lunes, 30 de enero de 2017

The alternate universe centers around the relationship between three characters (later, four) who are enmeshed in a sinister intrigue... The title is Hungarian for Doubting Castle, by the way, and refers to the main setting, that fortress/outpost community that gradually turns to more and more of a point of no return...
Viscountess Clarissa von Liebenstein and Freiherr Rainer von Waldheim, both only children and betrothed since childhood since the late Freiherr von Waldheim saved the Count von Liebenstein's life on the battlefiend in exchange for his own, reunite after a decade separated (since he was taken to Vienna for officer's education and she stayed at home in the provinces) at a society ball, now a marriageable maiden and a dashing lieutenant, both of them blond and fair-skinned. However, things clearly take a turn for the more exciting when Rainer's tall, dark, and brooding commanding officer, Colonel Karl Harschanji, né Harsányi Károly, takes Clarissa out to dance and --in the shocking first scene-- unties her corset on the ballroom balcony when she falls unconscious. The reserved raven-haired officer soon discovers in the girl he saves the first Austrian society lady who sees who he is instead of what he is, as the trio and some friends in white uniforms head for the distant fortress of Kétkedésvár, their assignment.
As Clarissa discovers for whom her feelings are awakening, Rainer expresses her wish to be happy, and a shotgun wedding is even celebrated in a village church en route (complete with white lies that the heiress married her intended beloved). Károly is, in the meantime, increasingly vulnerable; forced to serve the empire that left him a homeless orphan (when a childless high-ranking Austrian officer adopted the estate-born boy whose mum was shot right before his eyes) by wearing its uniform and finally finding love in the form of one of its socialites. A frequent victim of ugrophobia who ironically wears the Habsburg uniform, he initially speaks German with a Magyar accent, then he drops the act and speaks Hungarian when his sanity completely slips. (Kétkedésvár is a bilingual project, in which at least both languages and some French are spoken).
Then there's István, the discarded right-hand man who wants to get rid of both Rainer and Clarissa and keep Károly all to himself but also finish with the colonel who (ironically) saved his life during the revolution... and Ilona, the tomboyish orphan daughter of the regiment who serves as the dark-haired foil to the Habsburg blonde. Ilona falls for Rainer, giving us a love square of dark boy*blonde girl and blond boy*dark girl that is completely predictable, even more after the handkerchief trick... the idea of rolling Emilia, Bianca, and Roderigo into one character plus the twist reveal that her mum was a French noblewoman as revealed from the locket she had worn all along;
The story has pretty flashbacks of for instance Rainer's and Károly's discrimination and friendlessness as cadets at the Theresian military academy (the former due to social awkwardness, the latter due to ethnic identity), two backstories one decade apart that mirror one another pretty closely. Or the Count's unfortunate riding accident and ensuing coma, (that leads to him being wheelchair-bound due to spinal injury later on) while his wife and only daughter wake constantly and concernedly by his side.
But it's the very starting point with toddler lordling Károly getting orphaned and seeing his estate claimed by whitecoats, whose commanding officer mentions a childless wife and is stirred by the adorable dark-featured little boy's expression of shock. Maids, mum, nanny dying left and right and Károly standing there frozen as the enemy splutters tapestry walls and marble floors with the blood of loved ones... then the commanding officer suddenly addressing Karcsi in German and the ensuing headshake, in spite of the CO's friendliness. The latter switches to Hungarian and Karcsi replies in wonder with an AWWWW. Violence, the language barrier, an orphan adopted by the enemy leader who ordered the death of his loving mother. Then a montage of Karcsi vs. Peers at military school, all the other cadets shunning Karcsi as he goes through adolescence, followed by the Gott erhalte at the graduation, with all cadets-turned-lieutenants in their late teens --then age cut to another graduation set to Gott erhalte, with Rainer in Karcsi's place and 20/30-sth Károly, now a colonel and commandant of Kétkedésvár, among the commanding officers overseeing the new batch of freshly-baked lieutenants. The male blond corner of our love square now hears Clarissa's voice in his mind's ears: "I look forwards to seeing your face again." Followed by his own whisper "So do I."
There are lots of heartwarming moments until the Othello intrigue process kicks in and all the backstory is more or less set in stone. From that moment it's a thriller about slipping sanity and a romantic love-square drama, as the threat of a war on Prussia looms from outside but not even the walls of a star fortress are safe enough for our leading cast.
István's motivation? Right, he's a gay yandere who hateloves his CO whom he belittles for being a traitor to the Magyar cause AND idealizes for all of that coolness and the fact that he's made it this far. A yandere who suddenly realizes his kismesis has found himself a female love interest and a kindred spirit in a freshly-baked lieutenant for an aide-de-camp.
The ending? Right, it felt especially exciting, with Rainer and Ilona now the commandant and commandant's wife, watching István's execution by firing squad, and the dying traitor cursing both the new commandant and the Habsburg empire. Then there's this really heartwarming moment of Ilona kissing Rainer farewell before the war on Prussia calls him... he dies on the war front, his chest riddled, surely shot through the heart and having punctured both lungs... Ilona returns to Austria to give the whole story to the young Austrians' parents, while she is with Rainer's children... it ends with her having twins, a blond and a dark one, of unknown gender. All that set to a rending, heartwarming rendition of the opening theme.

Kétkedésvár is firmly steeped in nineteenth-century fictional traditions as well as Othello; first we find an idealized Arcadian hinterland (the von Liebenstein and von Waldheim shires, Károly's native estate) in stark contrast to decadent high society in the capital. A trope which was already as old as time, but that endured and even thrived with the Victorian shift to bourgeois ruling classes and industralism.
We find anti-war/pacifist statements and wartime orphans given as exhibit A of the consequences of armed conflict. However, unlike innocent Victorian waifs, those in this case have suffered serious trauma, deconstructing the trope.
We find the waif, speaking of orphans, who turns out to have been a noble child born in exile and raised by commoners, a trope as old as time but re-popularized by Dickens among other feuilleton authors.
We find a young heroine torn between her heart and her head, between her childhood friend and the tall, dark stranger; and her choice shaping the whole plotline of the novel and the character arcs of all three.
We find the fatal first glass that sets the ball rolling in temperance narratives, when a promising young man, being thirsty with exertion, is tempted by elusive so-called friends into tasting an intoxicating drink that fills him with elation and has him ask for more. The warmth and the elation once he has downed the above-mentioned strong drink are highlighted, and then, once the ball has been set rolling, the narrative chronicles his downfall and redemption.
We find the looming threat of war, returning to war, and the departure for the frontline looming like storm clouds in the horizon. Furthermore find the idealistic young officer lying upon the battlefield with a bullet through the heart.
Intrigue looms large within the walls of Kétkedésvár and leading characters are poisoned, drugged, their perceptions of reality warped, in one way or another. No matter if the cause is pálinka or paranoia, the ensuing loss of identity remains the same. Self-confidence and identity issues are put to the test. At the heart of the story is the problem of free will being a two-edged weapon."Steep on the right the path ascends,wide on the left the path descends..."
...and everyone is free to choose whither they will go, in spite of the constraints placed by the establishment. Yet the left-hand path is the more enticing one. The glory of Kétkedésvár lies in acknowledging the fact that anyone can waver and that there cannot be a good story without the initial descent or downfall; as demonstrated when realizing that "Untergang/untergehen" in German and "leszállni" in Hungarian serve as arc words, as a lexical leitmotif. Like the path to the left, a lot of other things are mentioned to descend: whether a high officer's glory and self-confidence, a drink of liquor down a lieutenant's throat, the evening twilight with its encroaching darkness, or the sun and the moon behind the horizon. Everyone in the leading cast within the walls is affected by despair; even --in the climax the surgeon who tries to dissuade Ilona from giving blood to a hypovolemic, comatose Rainer on what appears to be a combination of healthcare and jingoist issues. Her reply to the explanation that Magyar blood will kill the dying young Austrian? "Who dares wins!", she says, stripping her sleeves. And her defense of self-confidence (contrasted with Clarissa's simultaneous bedtime wavering) culminates with the placement of the IV, one of the needles of its extremes plunged into Rainer's left arm and the other into Ilona's right. A spoonful of cordial poured through parted lips every now and then, and the transfusion winds up being unexpectedly successful; her blood having become her lover's and coursed into his heart. Furthermore, the cordial (to quench a greater thirst than the one it all began with!) and the near-death have awakened Rainer's hazy, suppressed memories of the fateful evening when the brawl took place, thus tying up the loose ends even more. In that case, we may say that the love square with two parallel couples is carried on further with (at least pre-epilogue): dark boy*blonde girl, both deceased; and blond boy*dark girl, both alive. Károly kills Clarissa while Ilona saves Rainer's life. This parallel is definitely the jewel in the crown of the plot, showing that human passion is capable of both the greatest acts of cruelty and those of kindness.

domingo, 22 de enero de 2017

Here are my English and Spanish versions of an assignment I had to do for a course on García Márquez:

La hojarasca, The Leaf Storm, ends with the foreshadowing of the whistle of a ghost train and the disappearance of Macondo into that corner for heaping up "villages that no longer do a service to the nation." But it also ends, on a more personal note, with the funeral train of the late French doctor leaving the colonel's mansion, right before their confrontation with the local community. The last words are said by the grandchild: "Now they (the villagers) will sense the smell. Now all the curlews will begin to sing." These seabirds, that stand for tradition and the voice of the people, are clearly a leitmotif in the story, as much as the railway train and the leaf storm that represent the fruit company and the hinterland's connection to a globalised outside world, the impact that the arrival of the fruit company in general, illustrated in the particular case of the grass-eating and cohabitating European physician, has on traditional Macondo society. The railway is a powerful symbol of modernity and progress. In Clarín's story "Adiós, Cordera", the appearance of railroads and trains in a rural landscape (in that case, in northern Spain) also symbolizes the connection of the hinterland/backwater with a nineteenth-century globalized world and its market economy (market agriculture, market industry...), bringing in the outside world with all of its progress and all of its threats to traditional life. The final ghost train stands obviously for the decadence and return to isolation of Macondo as a discarded cog in the works of globalisation. Back to the childlike wonder even adults had at the start of 100 Years of Solitude, seeing a magnet and a block of ice brought by Romany peddlers from the outside world as magical objects. Back from railroads to curlews once more. The epigraph being Creon's decree (that anyone who buries the corpse of the traitor, exposed according to the law to scavengers and the elements, will be disgraced and executed in public) really foreshadows the fact that La hojarasca is basically going to be a retelling of Antigone in a (fictional) tropical rural village during wartime. The decrees of the social establishment (leave the traitor exposed as a mark of shame, execution awaits whoever buries or even mourned him) against those of the heart (every dead body deserves the same dignity; after all, we are all equal in death). That is not only a classical but even a UNIVERSAL theme; it's for instance at the heart of Hamlet (regarding revenge) or Romeo and Juliet (regarding young love). But the interesting thing is that Gabo didn't know he was unwittingly rewriting Antigone until one of his friends pointed it out. It's because this theme and this dilemma, like those of Shakespeare, are universal. The open ending is clearly enticing; how will the community and the family react during the funeral? Every reader is free to imagine their own ending. Would the villagers lunge at the colonel's family like an angry mob, and would he have to speak for the cause he defends? I imagine that ending. Furthermore, I'm sure the mob will learn their lesson and finally respect the colonel. The curlews will be hushed by the commanding voice they had hitherto overlooked until this moment, and sing in chorus with the old veteran.La hojarasca concluye con la predicción del silbido de un tren fantasma y de la relegación de Macondo al rincón donde se almacenan "los pueblos que han dejado de prestar servicio a la nación". Pero también concluye, de forma más personal, con el cortejo fúnebre del difunto doctor francés dejando la mansión del coronel justo antes de su enfrentamiento con la gente del pueblo. El nieto dice las últimas palabras de la novela: "Ahora (los macondenses) sentirán el olor. Ahora todos los alcaravanes se pondrán a cantar". Estas aves marinas, también llamadas zarapitos, representan la tradición y la voz del pueblo en el relato y son, por ende, un Leitmotif, tanto como los trenes y la hojarasca (tormenta de hojas) que representan a la compañía bananera y la conexión entre el ambiente de periferia o hinterland de Macondo y un mundo exterior globalizado; el impacto general de la compañía frutera en la sociedad rural tradicional se ilustra con el caso particular de la llegada de cierto médico europeo amancebado y comedor de hierba. La ferrovía es un símbolo muy potente de la modernidad y del progreso: en "¡Adiós, Cordera!", de Clarín, la aparición del tren en un ambiente rural tradicional (del norte de España, en este caso) también representa la conexión de una sociedad periférica/de hinterland con el mundo exterior globalizado y su economía de mercado (agricultura de mercado, industria de mercado...), trayendo al terruño el mundo exterior con todo su progreso y todas sus amenazas a lo tradicional. El tren fantasma final representa, por ende, la decadencia y el retorno al aislamiento de Macondo como un engranaje desechado por la maquinaria de la globalización, de la economía internacional. Un retorno al asombro infantil que mostraban incluso los adultos al principio de Cien años de soledad, al ver un imán y un bloque de hielo que los gitanos nómadas han traído del mundo exterior como objetos mágicos. De vuelta de la ferrovía a los alcaravanes. El que el epitafio sea el decreto de Creonte (quien se atreva a sepultar o incluso a llorar al traidor, expuesto en público a los carroñeros y a los elementos, pagará con la pena de muerte), realmente predice que La hojarasca va a ser una reescritura de Antígona en un ambiente rural tropical (ficticio) en tiempos de guerra/posguerra. Los decretos de las autoridades sociales (dejar al traidor expuesto en público como marca de vergüenza, la ejecución espera a quien le entierre e incluso a quien le llore) en conflicto con los decretos del corazón (todos los cuerpos inertes merecen ser tratados con dignidad; al fin y al cabo, la muerte nos hace a todos iguales): he aquí un tema no sólo clásico, sino UNIVERSAL: también está en el fondo de Hamlet (a propósito de la venganza) o de Romeo y Julieta (a propósito del amor adolescente). Pero lo interesante es que Gabo no se dio cuenta de que había reescrito Antígona sin proponerse la idea hasta que uno de sus amigos hizo hincapié en ello. Es porque el tema y el dilema, como los de Shakespeare, son universales. El final abierto es realmente incitante: ¿cómo reaccionarán el pueblo y la familia durante el funeral? Cada lector/a es libre de imaginar su propio final. ¿Atacarán los macondenses a la familia del coronel en turba furiosa, y tendrá él que defender su causa ante el pueblo? Tal es el final que yo imagino. Y encima, estoy segura de que la turba habrá aprendido la lección y respetará al coronel. Los alcaravanes callarán ante la voz de mando que habían despreciado hasta la fecha, para cantar a coro con el anciano militar.

jueves, 19 de enero de 2017

Yes, there is such a thing as a Bollywood Othello, set in our days' Uttar Pradesh. In which the title character is a half-caste regional leader (Omkara Shukla, played by Ajay Devgan) and his right-hand man Cassio is an Anglophone college boy (Keshav, played by Vivek Oberoi) whose cultural level sets him apart from most of the people in the hinterland setting. Desdemona is local lawyer's only daughter Dolly Mishra, also university-educated and Anglophone, and thus kindred spirits with Keshav. And Iago... Iago is Ishwar "Limp" Tyagi, played by Saif Ali Khan: Omi's right-hand man since they've had their posts and now left in the shade of this college boy with little to no experience in regional government.
SPOILER ALERT: Ishwar gets killed by his wife, instead of vice versa, in the ending!!
The story follows the plot of Othello rather close up and putting a deconstructive spin on it, as most Bollywood films do to their source texts, expanding the runtime to three hours (both Shakespeare's and Verdi's are two-hour shows) and adding all of those elaborate musical numbers. Definitely a fresh new spin on the old story...

miércoles, 18 de enero de 2017

Only five of the Shakespearean leading characters appear in the Lamb story: Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia, and Cassio. Bianca is fully missing, not even mentioned; while Roderigo is only mentioned in passing, not by name but as a "fellow Iago had set on," his motivation of unrequited love as lowed out as his name.

Othello was the first tragedy Charles Lamb adapted as a Tale. The second was theScottish Play, after which he decided to retell in short prose all the other Shakespearean tragedies... minus the Roman tragedies and Titus Andronicus.

Charles wrote to Wordsworth that "we believe Othello is the best among the Shakespearean Tales I have written." Not only the first, but also the author's fave retelling! No surprise that it has endured to the present day!

The Lamb version lows out, at the end, that Othello's successor is Cassio, aside from giving a more righteous ending in which Iago is tortured with undescriptible pain, then executed in some unspecified way.

In the Lamb version, the attempt to murder Cassio happens off-story: the lieutenant is brought wounded and bleeding (no mention of his new disability) into his commanding officer's bedchamber and Iago's attack upon him is told as a rather succinct flashback.

Charles omits Othello's final suicidal speech and the fact that he understands his transgressions and cannot forgive himself for what he has done. It's the narrator who points out the faults in the general.

So the Kuvira filk will have to wait a little longer because of this bunny I had this morning in bed... thinking of that song, of Tywin's rise to power, and of the similarities between both cases. Also... when was the last time I did a Westeros filk? Et voilà!! This is the Tywin Lannister success story retold to the same tune...

TYRION:How does an awkward orphan,son of a womanizing drunkard,dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot of the far Westerlands by Seven Gods, impoverished, in squalor,grow up to be a hero and a scholar?OBERYN:The young loner, always so ashamed of his father,got a lot farther by working a lot harder,by being a lot smarter,by being a self-starter...by thirteen, he was cupbearer to the royal courtiers!STEFFON:And every day, while watching the ships sailing away across the waterfrom the ramparts of the Rock, he'd struggled and kept his guard up!Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of;our stripling was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter!AERYS:Then a heart attack came, his dad got this chest painwhile climbing up a staircase; the maester's skill was in vain...At the funeral, he got that flash of passion in his brain,and he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain!TYRION:Well, the word got around, they said: "He's with insanity frought!";took up a collection just to send him to the royal court!AERYS:"Get your education, don't forget from whence you came,and the world's gonna know your name!What's your name?"YOUNG TYWIN:Tywin of the Lannisters...My name is Tywin of the Lannisters...and there are many things I haven't done,but just you wait, just you wait!JOANNA:When he was ten, his mother closed her eyes forever, bedridden...Two years later, see Tywin out of fear and shame hiddenaway, of mistresses so sick, the scent thick...EVERYONE, IN CHORUS:And Tywin got better, but his father went quick...AERYS:Weary of his birthplace and Lannisters' social suicide,left him with nothing but ruined pride, something new inside...A voice saying:EVERYONE, IN CHORUS:"Tywin, you've gotta fend for yourself!"AERYS:Started retreating and reading every treatise on the shelf...OBERYN:There would have been left nothing to do for someone less astute;he would have been dead or destitute, or made a fine male prostitute!Started rising, visualizing his new future as a lord,paying back all gathered debts for all the things he can't afford!TYRION:Scamming (scamming) for every book he can get his hands on!Planning (planning) for the future, see him now as he stands onthe bow of a ship, (oooh) headed across the land...In King's Landing, you can be a new man!EVERYONE:In King's Landing, you can be a new man!YOUNG TYWIN:Just you wait...EVERYONE:In King's Landing, you can be a new man!YOUNG TYWIN:Just you wait...In King's Landing, you can be a new man!In King's Landing, in King's Landing...YOUNG TYWIN:Just you wait...EVERYONE, IN CHORUS:Oh, Tywin of the Lannisters...we're waiting in the wings for you...You could never back down,you never learned to take yourti-i-i-i-ime!Oh, Tywin of the Lannisters...When Westeros sings for you,will they know what you overcame?Will they know that you changed the game?The world will never be the same, oh-oh...TYRION:The ship is in the harbour now, see if you can spot him!(YOUNG TYWIN: Just you wait...)OBERYN: Another parvenu coming up from the bottom...(YOUNG TYWIN: Just you wait...)His enemies destroyed his rep, and Westeros forgot him...STEFFON, BARRISTAN, AERYS:We fought with him!EDDARD:Me? I died for him!AERYS:Me? I trusted him!JOANNA, CERSEI, SHAE:Me? I loved him!OBERYN:Me? I poisoned him!TYRION:And me? I'm the bloody fool that shot him!EVERYONE:There's a million things I haven't done,but just you wait, just you wait...YOUNG AERYS:What's your name?EVERYONE IN CHORUS:Tywin of the Lannisters!!

We already know that the Art Professor at the University, only known for his profession/office and his equation of the not beautiful with the not useful, is a secondary character, nay, a bit character created by Oscar Wilde for satirizing the ivory tower intelligentsia's/academia's aesthetic views, as well as a fantasy counterpart inspired by Wilde's mentor Walter Pater.
So where does the Bard of Avon fit in? gli sterili commenti [···] del professore d’arte [···], che già Wilde aveva modellato sui dialoghi
clowneschi dei cortigiani di Shakespeare.18 (Here, Annotation 18 is inserted)I read this excerpt by Luca Federico and went... well, short of words. Federico explains below, in Annotation 18: 18 Pensiamo, per esempio, alle battute di Osric nella seconda scena del quinto
atto di Hamlet.

What is interesting is Osric's pompous and artificial mannerisms, which the Bard satirizes in a similar way. The adjective "flowery" is used in study guides left and right to describe Osric's style of conversation.
Just have a look here in this link: http://nfs.sparknotes.com/hamlet/page_312.html

lunes, 16 de enero de 2017

(4) The inhabitants of the earth were
intoxicated with the wine of adulteries;
and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of fornication.

REV 17:2... (4) The inhabitants of the earth were
intoxicated with the wine of adulteries;"Wine of her fornication": The harlot's influence will extend
beyond the world's rulers to the rest of mankind (compare verse 15; 13:8,
13:14). The imagery does not describe actual wine and sexual sin, but pictures
the world's people being swept up into the intoxication and sin of a false
system of religion.The same way a drunken person naturally has no earthly idea what he
is doing, this apostate group is so carried away with the world that they, too,
do not realize the terribleness of what they are doing.

"the inhabitants of the earth," who are represented as having been "made drunk with the wine of fornication."

Here were allurements suited to sensual and worldly minds. Prosperity, pomp, and splendour, feed the pride and lusts of the human heart...
... and seduced others to join abominations.

That made all the earth drunk. The nations drank ... wine; Therefore the nations are deranged” (Jer. Jer. 51:7). It was her who first made them drunk, but in their consistent rejection and their drunken stupor they returned for more which allowed
her to continue serving up.

made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of fornication”
“They have been made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” The wine
refers to the demonic doctrines, ideologies and concepts produced by
this religious/political alliance.
In our day the worship of the queen of heaven is still present (a new
face for an old concept) namely, one-world order through social reform
and the mysticism of the New Age movement. This has to do with becoming like gods through New Age mysticism. So all racial
distinctions, religious distinctions, and social distinctions must be
removed. Everyone must learn to get along. Social reform and unification
will be promoted as the greatest need.

“Drunkenness” in any form is an escape mechanism and the result of negative volition, indifference, apathy, and rejection. Because of the great negative volition that will exist at the time
of the Tribulation, the world will be ripe for the wine of the harlot’s
system. Lutzer and DeVries give us an excellent overview of the nature
of this intoxicating wine.
“Having a golden cup” refers to an enticing manner of alluring men and nations. She invites men to drink of her deadly and stupefying wine by offering it in a golden cup, while arrayed in all her splendor.

those that dwell on the earth have lost their senses through pernicious and inebriating influence.

and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wineof her fornication; that is, the earthly minded men, mere carnal persons, have been drawn into idolatrous practices by the allurements of the Catholic Church, such as [···] pleasures, [···] whereby they have been intoxicated as men with wine, and have been
filled with a blind zeal for that church, and the false doctrines and
worship of it, and with madness and fury against the true professors of
religion.

On Rev 18:22 on the death of profane entertainment: to be posted aside22. pipers--flute players. "Musicians," painters and sculptors,
have desecrated their art to lend fascination to the sensuous worship of
corrupt Christendom. (1) No more music and entertainers (vs. 22a). The commercial and
business world often seeks escape in the jive and jazz, the rock and
roll of its music world in the various places of night entertainment.
Consider the hotels, motels, bars, lounges, and other establishments where music is provided for the commercial world and its participants.And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all;There shall be no more mirth or joy; but heavy and lamentable things, And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers andtrumpeters
Which were for mirth, delight, and pleasure:shall be heard no more at all in thee:
the words seem to be taken from ( Isaiah 24:8 ) ( Ezekiel 26:13
) and may not only regard the loss of every thing that was delightful
and pleasant to the ear in private houses, at festivals, and nuptials,
and the like, but the ceasing of church music; there will be no more
bells, nor organs, or any other instruments of music; no more chanters,
and sub-chanters, choristers, singing men and boys:And the voice of harpers. It is this third angel who declares the silence and desolation now.And
the voice of harpers - Players on stringed instruments. And musicians -
Skilful singers in particular.And pipers - Who played on flutes,
chiefly on mournful, whereas trumpeters played on joyful, occasions.
Shall be heard no more; and no artificer - Arts of every kind,
particularly music, sculpture, painting, and statuary, were there
carried to their greatest height. (Not only) the arts that adorn life will cease forever.The voice of harpers - Music was the entertainment of the rich and great; The voice (pone). Cf. Ezekiel 26:13 . Or "sound" as in 1 Corinthians 14:8 with salpigx (trumpet). For this song of judgment see Jeremiah 25:10 . Of harpers (kitharoidon). Old word (from kithara, harp, and oido, singer) as in Revelation 14:2 . Of minstrels (mousikon). Old word (from mousa, music), here only in N.T., one playing on musical instruments. Of flute-players (auleton). Old word (from auleo, to play on a flute, Matthew 11:17 , aulo, flute, 1 Corinthians 14:7 ), in N.T. only here and Matthew 9:23 . Of trumpeters (salpiston). Late form for the earlier salpigkth (from salpizw), here only in N.T. Shall be heard no more at all (ou me akousthe).Isaiah 24:8The mirth of tabrets ceaseth Or of drums, and such like musical instruments, used at junketings and jovial feasts. So the voice of harpers and musicians, and of pipers and trumpeters, shall be heard no more therein, ( Revelation 18:22 ) : the noise of them that rejoice endeth; the tumultuous noise of revelling persons at feasts and banquets, at marriages, and such like seasons; and so it is said, that the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all
therein, or the joy expressed on such occasions by their friends and
companions, ( Revelation 18:23 ) : the joy of the harp ceaseth;
an instrument of music used on joyful occasions; the voice of harpers is particularly mentioned in ( Revelation 18:22 ) ..(2.) Music: The mirth of tabrets ceases, and the joy of the harp, which used to be at their feasts, ch. 5:12 . All joy is darkened; there is not a pleasant look to be seen, nor has any one power to force a smile; all the mirth of the land is gone (v. 11); and, if it was that mirth which Solomon calls madness, there is no great loss of it.

Isaiah 24:88
The joyful timbrels are stilled,
the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent.

Tabrets - Which they used in their feasts. The noise - The word properly signifies a confused clamour, such as drunken men make.

Verb used by John in REV 17 for the inhabitants of the earth:εμεθυσθησαν (emethystesan) verb - aorist passive indicative - third person methuo meth-oo'-o: to drink to intoxication, i.e. get drunk -- drink well, make (be) drunk(-en).
The word used in REV is emethysthēsan

ἐμεθύσθησαν

have been made drunk

Thrice he gave it to him, and thrice he drank, not knowing what it was, and how it would work within his brain.And as he spoke he fell back in a drunken sleep.

miércoles, 11 de enero de 2017

One thing about bunnies is the fact that they tend to spawn at an alarming rate.
This idea rose at about the same time as the Lützen filk of yesterday. I murmured it in bed this morning before rising up and telling myself: hey, this one's worth a shot!
So it's the opening number of the same musical, basically. Got a Kuvira version in the works as well, let's see when it sees the light!

ALBRECHT VON WALLENSTEINNARRATOR I (TILLY):How does an awkward orphan,son of gentry Bohemian Protestants,dropped out of college,in a forgotten spot of the Austrian provinces, impoverished, in squalor,grow up to be a warlord and a scholar?NARRATOR II (GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS):The drop-out loner without mother or fathergot a lot farther by working a lot harder,by being a lot smarter,by being a self-starter;at sixteen,they placed him as valet to a certain margrave...NARRATOR III (PAPPENHEIM):And every day, while servants tended to their tasks and guardedthe grand baroque estate, he struggled and kept his guard up...Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of...Our stripling was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter!Then, up to a ledge he came in a downpour of rain,his footing slipped, slipped; and slipping down he came...landed down on his two feet, a sudden jolt struck his brain,and he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain...NARRATOR I (TILLY):Well, then word got around, they said "This kid is insane, at best!"Took up a collection just to send him on a Grand Tour quest..."Get your education,don't forget from whence you came!And the world is gonna know your name!What's your name?"YOUNG WALLENSTEIN:Albrecht von Wallenstein...My name is Albrecht von Wallenstein,and there's a million things I haven't done,but just you wait, just you wait...NARRATOR IV (ISABELLA):When he was ten, both his parents suddenly, tragedy, were bed-ridden...Two years later, see Albrecht detached and from his guardians hidden...half-sitting before a desk to read, the air real cold...And Albrecht thought his college years would be worth gold...NARRATOR III (PAPPENHEIM):Moved into Altdorf, but there he committed social suicide...Left him with nothing but ruined pride,something new inside, a voice saying..."ALBRECHT, YOU'VE GOTTA FEND FOR YOURSELF!!"He started retreating and reading every treatise on the shelf...There would have been nothing left to do for someone less astute;he would have been dead or destitute, or even a male prostitute!Started working, exerting himself for this margrave "as reward,"pouring Cogniac and kirsch and all the things he can't afford...Scamming (scamming...) for every book he can get his hands onPlanning (planning...) for the future; see him now as he stands on (planning...)his own two feet, (oooooh...) headed from land to land... At the Court, you can be a new man! ALL NARRATORS:At the Court, you can be a new man! YOUNG WALLENSTEIN:Just you wait...ALL NARRATORS:At the Court, you can be a new man! YOUNG WALLENSTEIN:Just you wait...ALL NARRATORS:At the Court, you can be a new man! At the Court, at the Court...YOUNG WALLENSTEIN:Just you wait...ALL NARRATORS:Oh, Albrecht von Wallenstein...Albrecht von Wallenstein...We're waiting in the wings for you...Waiting in the wings for you...You could never back down...you never learned to take your...TI-I-I-IME!Oh, Albrecht von Wallenstein...Albrecht von Wallenstein...When Romanticism sings for you,will they know what you overcame,will they know you rewrote the game?The world will never be the same, o-oh...NARRATOR I (TILLY):The boy is at the Hofburg now, see if you can spot him!(YOUNG WALLENSTEIN: Just you wait...)NARRATOR V (KAISER FERDINAND II):Another parvenu coming up from the bottom...(YOUNG WALLENSTEIN: Just you wait...)NARRATOR III (PAPPENHEIM):His enemies destroyed his rep, Enlightenment forgot him...TERZKY/ISOLANI/TILLY:We fought with him!PAPPENHEIM:Me? I died for him!FERDINAND II:Me? I trusted him!ISABELLA/PAPPENHEIM:Me? I loved him!GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS:Me? I defeated him!LESLIE:And me!? I'm the bloody fool that stabbed him!EVERYONE:There's a million things I haven't done,but just you wait...just you wait...40-STH TILLY:What's your name?EVERYONE:Albrecht von Wallenstein!!!

martes, 10 de enero de 2017

CHAPTER THE FIFTHCHARMSor,SPELLS, SPECCHIO OR OTHERWISE, FOR ALL CASES

Dancing in Twilight
(This article is actually faaar less nuanced!)
One of the dirtier secrets of the Radiant is the sheer number of Nobles who,
at one point in their life or another, dabble in the Invocations of the Twilight
Queens. Dabbling in this case can be anything up to buying two or three dots
in the Invocations; more requires a strength of commitment to the ideals of the
Queen which is largely incompatible with remaining a member of the Radiant
(for one, one’s own Queen will tend to object). The truth is that, the flaws in the
Twilight Queens are ones which are within the hearts of man as a whole, and so
most of the Enlightened have felt the same urges at some point in their life. Note
that, however, such dabblers still consider themselves part of the Radiant, and,
in the case of those who feel affinity for the Queen of Mirrors, often consider the
The Child Queen to be Radiant. They still oppose the Darkness, and will fight
against the loyalists of Storms. One of the greatest topic of debate in
the multiple, disparate groups of the Enlightened is how to respond to people who
use Twilight Invocations, and whether or not they’re doing anything wrong.

The Invocation of Specchio, tool of the Crown’s Custodian, the Queen of Mirrors,
however, is the most subtle and insidious of the Twilight Queens, and the influence
it is. In part, it is because of the lack of an overall enemy that the Invocation is
linked to; while the Furies provide a highly visible “there but for the grace of the Light I go”
example which other dabblers can keep away from, the egotism and self-righteousness
implicitly promoted by the Queen of Mirrors, and the lack of a solid adversary
is hard to fight against, especially since many Princesses have tendencies in that direction naturally.
Dabblers can slip into following the Queen of Mirrors much more easily, especially since the Queen does
not demand fidelity, which means that some elder Radiant are much more harsh in
opposing its use. There are those who argue that, unlike Tempesta and Lacrima,
use of this Invocation makes you a de facto follower of Mirror’s agenda. And on the
other hand, there are those who count the Queen of Mirrors as among the Radiant
Queens, despite the objections of the other five. Moreover, there us also a faction
in the Court of Diamonds who study Specchio for the unique sources of information
it provides, or even to study the strange achronal or spacewarping Charms unique
to Specchio, once again the Queen has given her consent. Even outside the Court
of Diamonds there are Radient who find these Charms to be exceptionally useful
and irreplaceable with more moral Invocations, not just an improvement over them.
In the Court of Diamonds these dabblers protect themselves from the effects of
madness by only using Specchio while supervised by a Princess who knows the
Reclaim Charm. Of all the Twilight Invocations, Specchio might be the easiest
to learn, too; all one needs for it is self-belief in one's own cause, and a spark
of the brilliance needed to reshape the world. And neither are rare among the
Enlightened.

Charms
The basic magics of the Hopeful are called Charms. Use of a Charm is, as a rule, an obviously magical
event, as obvious as transformation, unless the Princess specifically tries to cloak herself. Generally the
Light’s force overflows into some visible manifestation – a flash of light, a snatch of music, the appearance
of a solid object – that leaps from the Princess to her target.
The Charms are divided into 10 trees. Each Calling has an affinity to 3 of them, learning the Charms
within them more easily.
Each Charm has an Action attribute, giving the type of action using it is:
• Instant: Activating the Charm is an instant action, taking a turn. The dice pool to roll for the
action is noted.
• Full turn: Activating the Charm is an instant action, but it also requires forgoing Defence in the
turn you activate it.
• Reflexive: Activating the Charm is a reflexive action; it doesn’t interfere with your normal action
and can be done at any point in the initiative cue. A dice pool to roll is noted.
• Reactive: Activating the Charm can be done at any point in the initiative cue but it consumes
your action for the turn. A dice pool to roll is noted.
• Permanent: The Charm enhances another ability. No action is required to activate it – if the
proper conditions obtain, it just works. A Princess can always disable a permanent Charm if she
so chooses. If no other method is presented a Transformation action will activate or deactivate any
number of permanent Charms.
• (one of the above) and resisted: The Charm has a target, and you must subtract one of his traits
from the dice pool.
• (one of the above) and contested: The Charm has a target, who reflexively rolls an opposed dice
pool; you must roll more successes than he does for the Charm to take effect.
Other than the permanent Charms, each Charm has a duration, ending when the stated time runs
out; and a cost, usually in Wisps. Powerful Charms call for Willpower points; many Charms favoured by
the Queen of Storms inflict damage on their user, which resists magical healing; and using some Charms
favoured by the Queen of Tears transgresses against Belief.
A Charm with a duration of “lasting” changes its target permanently in a flash of magic; as a Charm
it ends immediately. Charms with an “indefinite” duration leave a continuing trace of magic on their
target (often a Condition or Tilt) which other supernatural powers can detect or influence. A Charm
with a duration of “concentration” needs its user’s active attention, and ends if the user spends her turns
action on anything but maintaining the Charm.
If a Charm is used on a person, a Princess can use it on herself Charm specifically states she cannot.

Learning Charms
Each Charm has a rating in dots, which sets the price and difficulty of learning its basic effect. While
Charms need not be learned in any fixed sequence, the more advanced Charms can’t be learned without
practice with simpler powers. Example: Before she can learn a Govern Charm rated at three dots, a Princess would have to know:
Three one dot Govern Charms, a one dot and a two dot Govern Charm, two one dot Govern Charms
one of which has an Upgrade, or a single Govern charm which has two Upgrades.
A few Charms have another Charm as a prerequisite; to learn these Charms, a Princess must have
learned the prerequisite Charm, as well as meeting the total dots required for its basic effect. Upgrades
can also have prerequisites. Finally, your Inner Light limits the dots you can put in a Charm; a Princess
cannot learn a Charm with more than Inner Light + 2 dots. A Princess
Many upgrades change the cost or duration of their Charm, add a modifier to the activation roll, or
have a Drawback, or trigger Specchio’s drawback. Therefore, you are not required to apply any upgrade
when using a Charm – the basic effect is always available, at the original cost.

Invoked and General Charms
By default a Princess can learn any Charm, providing she knows enough dots in the relevant Charm
family. Once she knows a Charm she may apply whichever Invocation is most useful to increase the
Charm’s potency.
A fair number of Charms work differently. These Charms, known as Invoked Charms, require dots
in an Invocation to purchase. They can be recognised by the presence of Invocation dots along side the
Charm’s dots. Invoked Charms cannot be learned until the Princess has the listed dots in the linked
Invocation and cannot be cast with any Invocation but their prerequisite. When using such a Charm, a
Princess can apply the prerequisite Invocation to gain its bonus (if conditions permit) or she can make
the activation roll without any bonus, but she may not apply any other Invocation’s bonus.
A Princess who breaks an Invocation’s ban may still use that Invocation’s Invoked Charms. Naturally
she cannot apply any Invocation for bonus dice.
There are also general Charms with upgrades that require Invocation dots – applying such an
upgrade converts the Charm to an invoked one – and some invoked Charms with upgrades that require
more Invocation dots than the basic Charm does. Upgrades that require different Invocations are not
compatible; you may not apply both of them to the same activation of a Charm.

Charm Modifiers
Intimacy
Some Charms can be used on distant targets, or on multiple targets, by taking penalties to their activation
roll. If a Charm’s dice pool is modified by Intimacy, the strength of the emotional connection between
the Princess and her target affects the power of the Charm. Consult this table for the penalty to the
activation roll:
A Princess does not have to use her own emotional connection. By touching another person she
may use their Intimacy instead of her own. This increases the Intimacy modifier by one step (add the
intermediary’s Composure as an additional penalty if they are unwilling). A Princess can also use the
connection between a person and a treasured object, this increases the penalty by two steps.
If the Princess has a keepsake, a treasured object that symbolises her relationship with another (such
as a love letter) this reduces the penalty by one die. If she touches uses somebody else’s connection she
can reduce the penalty by one die if she touches the that person and one of their keepsakes. The benefit
does not stack with multiple keepsakes.
If a character is targeted via Intimacy and they are aware of it they may respond by using any of their
own abilities that work via Intimacy at the same dicepool modifier. If a Princess witnesses someone or
something else being targeted via Intimacy they may respond using the original dicepool modifier plus
one or two steps as is normal for using a proxy. In essence, the character sends their magic back down
the channel someone else created through Intimacy.

Penalty Strength of Connection
0 Sensory: You can see the target directly.
-2 Love or hate: The target is a longtime friend or enemy, a member of your family, a romantic
lover, hurt you badly, or a prized possession.
-4 Friendship or enmity: You know the target well; or the target is something you own and
care about.
-6 Compassion or dislike: You know the target slightly; or the target is an a typical item you
own.
-8 Acquaintance: You have met the target briefly; or the target is an item you have held.
-10 Few feelings: You have a verbal description of the target, but nothing more.
- Unknown: You cannot affect the target via Intimacy.

Commonality
If a Charm’s dice pool is modified by Commonalty, it can affect all the members of a social group at
once. Commonality does not increase the range of a Charm and cannot be combined with Intimacy, so
all the affected people will have to be present. If such a Charm is resisted, the member of the group with
the best resistance trait resists for the whole group; for a contested Charm, each member rolls to contest
individually. The difficulty of extending the Charm over a social group depends on the commitment the
members have towards each other, or towards the common goal for which the group exists. Consult this
table for the appropriate penalty:

Penalty Strength of Connection
0 Individual: one person, the default.
-3 Dedicated: everyone in the group affected is mutually friends, or the group’s goal takes up
the majority of its members’ time and thought; an established nakama, a family.
-6 Concerned: everyone in the group knows eachother, or all the members make significant
sacrifices for the common goal; a new nakama, the long term employees of a small business.
-9 Interested: everyone in the group is mutually acquainted or better, or the members share
an interest in the group’s goal; a social club, employees of a large corporation.
-12 Casual: some members of the group have only encountered each other; the group is merely
a lot of people gathered in one place, with no common interest.

Sanctuary
Several Charms affect large areas, and most of those Charms require more magic and more effort to
affect a larger place. When a Charm refers to Sanctuary Size consult this table:
Rating Sanctuary Size
X Just enough room for one person to stand or lie down (Typically Charms using the
Sanctuary keyword can’t affect an area this small)
• A small apartment or a cabin in the woods; 1-2 rooms
•• A large apartment or small remote house; 3-4 rooms
••• A converted church, warehouse or large house; 5-8 rooms
•••• A mansion or apartment building; 9-15 rooms
••••• A vast palatial estate or a small village

Charms that use the Sanctuary keyword are typically easier to activate when the area in question
is one the Princess values, and conversely are difficult to use in areas she dislikes or fears. Consult the
following suggested modifiers:
• +5 Exceptionally strong memories of love and safety, such as a childhood home
• +3 Strong memories of love and safety, such as a long time friend’s home
• +1 The Princess, or her Principality, owns the property
• +1-3 The area is a Safe Place for the Princess (bonus = half the Merit dots, rounding up)
• -2 General feeling of dislike, such as a school room where the Princess was board.
• -3 The Princess has never been in the area before
• -5 Strong memories of fear or horror
Extended Actions and Charms
Charms do not exist in isolation, they are deeply tied into a Princess’ hopes and beliefs. Usually a
Princess’ Charms are influenced by her hopes, but a particularly strenuous act of magic can have a
noticeable if fleeting affect upon a Princess’ emotions.
If a Princess performs a Charm or uses an Embassy Privilege as an Extended Action she may gain
the following conditions, in addition to any effects of the Charm itself:
• Exceptional Success: Luminous
• Failure: Stuck Magic
• Dramatic Failure: Shaken
Teamwork Actions and Charms
Princesses are very good at working together and all Charms with an activation roll can be invoked as a
Teamwork action, just so long as every participant knows the base Charm. Only the primary actor needs
to spend Wisps, Willpower, or take Damage in the case of Tempesta Charms; however when invoking
a Specchio Charm (including an Invoked Upgrade) the relevant Drawback applies to all participants (this should be considered by us Heirs as collateral damage). All participants in a teamwork action must apply the same Invocation or no Invocation at all, and secondary actors must still pay the Wisp for Invoking Charms unless they qualify to apply the Invocation without a cost.
The Merit Troupe Magic removes the need for secondary actors to know the base Charm, but only for Inspire Charms.

Clash of Wills
When two Princesses (or anyone with magical powers) attempt to invoke conflicting magics a Clash of
Wills occurs. This could be two Hope Engineers fighting to control the same body of water, a Wild
trying to magically remove the capability for violence while a Fury tries to whip a crowd to a murderous
fury or a group of Jewels each trying to inspire people to believe in their political party.
When a Clash of Wills occurs each party makes a contesting roll to resolve the clash, the winning
party’s magic takes precedence.
• Princess (including Ghost Princesses): Inner Light + half Belief (rounding up)
• Sworn or Beacon (with a Bequest): half Integrity (rounding up)
• Shikigami: half Integrity (rounding up)
• Dreamlanders (including Wardens but not the former inhabitants of the Kingdom): Power + Rank
• Lieutenants: Power + Rank (unvesseled) or Attribute + Rank (vessled)
• Creature of the Darkness: Shadows
• Dethroned: Inner Darkness

Disabling Charms
Some Charms have Upgrades that provide passive or automatic abilities. When a Princess Transforms
the player may choose which Charms are in effect and a further Transformation action may be made at
any time to switch which Charms are in play. This also applies to individual Upgrades.

Regalia
Some permanent Charms add items to the Princess’ transformed self, or give her the ability to add an
item. These extra pieces form the Princess’ Regalia. When a Charm states that an item is part of the
Regalia, it can appear on her person, ready for use, when the Princess transforms, if she wishes it to. If
a Charm does not state that it creates Regalia a player may still declare that it does so, but this has no
mechanical effect.
A Princess can switch any number of Regalia pieces into or out of solid existence with a Transformation
action; the dice pool for this action is the same as the one for full Transformation. However, if she returns
to mundane form she must dismiss all her Regalia as well. Naturally, pieces of Regalia help a Princess
with her goals only when they are in existence - any bonuses they confer are lost if she sends them away.
All Regalia has a Structure equal to Belief and a Durability of Inner Light. If a piece of Regalia
is destroyed or lost, the Princess can recreate or summon it while transformed; as with a dissolved
phylactery, she must spend a Wisp and a Willpower point to recreate a piece of Regalia, which takes a
full round and this requires her absolute concentration.
If another was to steal a Princess’ regalia they would be unable to use it, but they would be able to
target the Princess through an unbreakable Intimacy link with a strength equivalent to love. Fortunately
any technique that would cut the connection Princesses use to summon Regalia would, by definition,
destroy the Regalia.

Appear
The Appear Charms change your appearance, and produce other illusions. Seekers and Troubadours
have affinity for them.

Life of the Party (Appear •)
Action: Permanent
An ornate hat, crown, tiara, hair accessories or some other headdress becomes part of the Princess’
Regalia, giving her an air of pleasant elegance. She gets the 9-again quality on mundane Socialize rolls
within one of her specialities (fixed when she takes the Charm) and she may apply an Invocation to
those rolls.
Upgrade: Gregarious
Stacks, up to 2
The Princess is at home in any social situation. Each time she takes this upgrade, she adds another
speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for rolls covered by any of the added
specialities.
Upgrade: Carousing (Aria ••)
The Princess can get drunk, or high on illegal drugs, and never show it – she keeps her poise and self-control. Reduce all social penalised for intoxication by Aria. The Princess isn’t actually resistant to
drugs, she just doesn’t show the effects.
Upgrade: Gossiping (Terra ••)
When asking for information from her connections, the Princess nearly always finds what she seeks.
She gets the 9-again quality on all rolls to get information from her Contacts (see p. 114 of the core
book) if she questions them while transformed, and may apply Terra to those rolls. (Using this ability
on a Contact who knows only the Princess’ mundane identity is best done over email ...)

Light the Way (Appear •)
Action: Instant
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Inner Light or Invocation hours
The Princess can, at any time, create a soft light that banishes the thickest natural darkness. The light
source can take any source the princess wishes, from a torch or a glowing halo to a simple ambient
glow, it illuminates the Princess’ path and leaves her hands free. She can bring the light up or douse it
reflexively, and set it to shine at any intensity short of full sunlight.
Upgrade: Dazzling (Fuoco •)
The Princess can make her light flash brightly enough to dazzle and blind an opponent. As an instant
action, she spends a Wisp and rolls Dexterity + Athletics - the target’s Defence. The target takes the
Dazzled Tilt for one turn per success.

Twenty Faces (Appear •)
Action: Instant, Wits + Subterfuge
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
Sometimes, the full glory of the light must be veiled, so that a Princess may walk unnoticed.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot use Twenty Faces for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The Princess’ appearance and raiment are unchanged.
Success: The Princess wraps herself in an illusion that conceals her Regalia; she seems to be dressed
in appropriate “civilian” clothes for the area. The illusion does not alter her features - anyone who
has seen her transformed self will recognize her if they meet her - but her status as a Noble is hidden.
Any use of Charms dismisses the illusion. Supernatural powers that pierce illusions must beat the
Princess’ successes to see her true appearance.
Exceptional Success: The illusion blurs the Princess’ features. People who have met her transformed
before don’t recognize her, unless they make a special effort to identify her (succeeding on a Wits +
Investigation roll.)
Upgrade: Disguised
The Princess is able to choose her imaginary clothing’s appearance, dress her hair, and add cosmetics
to taste. An outfit chosen to support a disguise adds a +1 equipment bonus for each activation success;
such changes can extend to anything a mundane make-up artist could accomplish - hair and skin can
be dyed, hair lengthened or shortened, figures padded, and so on. Clothing chosen to support other
Social tasks in which proper clothing helps grants a flat +1 bonus.
Upgrade: Masked
Requires Disguised
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess changes her features dramatically. She may alter all aspects of her appearance - ethnicity,
height, build, voice, even sex - within the limits of her Size trait. (A Princess with the Giant Merit will
always be a very tall man or woman, no matter how this Charm is used; a child Princess cannot look
like a full-grown adult, and an adult cannot pass herself off as a child.) All attempts to identify her fail
automatically. If she chooses her appearance to support a disguise, the Princess gets the equipment
bonus from Disguised, and witnesses take a penalty of half her Inner Light (rounding up) to pierce the
disguise.
The Princess can even attempt to take on the appearance of a specific person, applying the Intimacy
modifier for her connection to the person she wishes to impersonate. The Princess and her target must
still have the same Size.
Upgrade: Durable
Use of Charms does not destroy the illusion permanently. Instead, it flickers, revealing the Princess’
true appearance for a moment; observers will notice this if they succeed on a reflexive Wits +
Composure roll, penalized by her activation successes.

Unseen Traveller (Appear •)
Action: Permanent
A Princess usually wants to be seen, to be noticed, to be the one that holds the lantern of Light that is
the beacon to guide others. But sometimes, being seen is exactly what you don’t need, as the Darkness
flees from the Light it becomes harder to determine its plan and intent. The Princess gets the 9-again
quality on mundane Stealth rolls within one of her specialities (chosen when she takes the Charm) and
may apply an Invocation to such rolls.
Upgrade: Chameleon
Stacks, up to 2
The Princess’ cloak shifts its appearance to best conceal her wherever she is. Each time she takes this
upgrade, she adds another speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for mundane
Stealth rolls covered by any of the added specialities.

Face of Lover's Alarm (Appear •, Specchio ••)
Action: Reflexive, Manipulation + Empathy
Cost: 1 Wisp
One would not threaten a loved one, would they? And as the Queen of Mirrors teaches, the True Heir
will be beloved by all. This Charm is activated in response to an attack, and the Enlightened’s face and
appearance blurs into a loved one of the attacker. Successes on the roll cancel successes on the attack,
on a one-to-one basis.
Such a delicate flower cannot be seen to fight back against the actions of a monster; a character may
not apply their Defence against this attack, for to fight back would break the illusion. In addition, the
Charm relies on the empathy and the goodness of the target, and so the number of successes which can
be removed cannot exceed the Integrity (or supernatural equivalent) of the attacker. Against a target
with no Integrity, such as a Darkspawn or an animal, the Charm fails to activate.
Upgrade: Known
Clinging onto the glamour of the veiled features, the Princess can grasp the memory. She knows whose
appearance she took on, and the nature of the emotional connection to the attacker. If she cancels out
all the successes on the attack, she also unconsciously impersonates their mannerisms for the rest of
the scene, imposing a -1 penalty on all further attacks for the rest of the scene, which explicitly stacks
with multiple uses to a maximum of -5. This penalty, like the base Charm, vanishes if the Princess
attacks.
Upgrade: Doomed (Specchio ••••)
Cost: +1 Willpower
Does the mirror reflect the truth, or does it show things how they should be? If the individual whom
the Noble mimics is present, and within the attack range of the form of weapon used to attack her, the
damage cancelled is transferred to them. In the case of a melee weapon, the target might swing wide
and hit their friend; for a ranged weapon, it can be more improbable, as ricochets, arcing electrical
conduits, and exploding fire extinguishers all conspire to hurt their ally. Armour

Phantom (Appear ••)
Action: Instant, Wits + Expression
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: concentration, then activation successes in turns
The Princess forms a Wisp into an illusory object. The illusion affects only sight, and material objects
pass through it without stopping. The Size of the image is limited to 2 + Inner Light, but within that
limit she can show any image she is capable of imagining.
113
Dramatic Failure: The Charm fails with a burst of light and a loud crack, alerting anyone nearby who
could see or hear to the Princess’s presence.
Failure: No image appears.
Success: The Princess creates the image she desires, somewhere within her sensory range. The image
remains as long as the Princess concentrates on maintaining it (which prevents her from taking any
action unrelated to the image) and for additional turns equal to her activation successes. While she is
concentrating on it, the Princess may move and alter the image with mundane actions, rolling Wits
+ Expression. The Storyteller may require a different Skill for some actions (e.g. Subterfuge when
an image is meant to deceive.) The Princess may resume concentrating on the image after releasing
it, as long as the Charm’s duration hasn’t expired; any turn the Princess spends concentrating on the
image does not count against the Charm’s duration. The image freezes in place when the Princess
stops concentrating on it.
Exceptional Success: The Princess manipulates her illusion deftly. Her mundane actions to control it
gain a +2 bonus.
Upgrade: Dancing
The Princess may create an image that moves without her conscious attention. When her concentration
lapses, the image continues to act on the instructions she last gave it.
Upgrade: Glowing
Requires Light the Way
The Princess can make her illusions give off light, just as her Regalia does with Light the Way. As long
as she is concentrating on an image, she may vary the light coming from it reflexively, independently
of her personal light. If she has upgraded Light the Way, she may apply all that Charm’s upgrades to
the image’s light as if it were her own.
Upgrade: Lasting
Cost: +1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The image endures to the end of the scene, whether the Princess concentrates on it or not.
Upgrade: Consecrated
Requires Lasting
The Princess may sustain a Lasting illusion with the blessing of a Consecrated area. Doing so keeps
the illusion intact until the Consecrated Condition ends, but limits its movements to the area covered
by the Condition. The Princess must apply Lasting to tie an illusion to a Consecrated area.
Upgrade: Singing
The Princess may create an illusory sound, or add sound to an illusory image. A sound without an
image seems to come from a point the Princess can see, which she can move while concentrating.
Upgrade: Solid
The image becomes substantial. As long as it lasts it has a degree of solidity, as well as a firmness and
texture appropriate to what it depicts. However, just because it projects an image of solidity does not
mean it is solid; the image shatters if force is applied to it (by kicking an illusionary wall, for example)
or with it (an illusionary wrench won’t tighten or loosen a bolt).

Goccia Astrale (•••)
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Crafts
Cost: 2+ Wisps
Duration: Variable
“I can’t be in two places at once!” is an all-too-common complaint from just about anyone; the Hopeful
especially find it necessary to be two people at once, when mundane obligations interfere with fighting
a supernatural incursion. With this Charm a Princess can partly resolve such dilemmas, by making a
facsimile of her mundane self that moves and speaks, and can pass as herself if not examined too closely.
To use the Charm, the Princess must have a mass of material that she can shape barehanded, or else
a quantity of fluid, of roughly Size 2. Infusing this material with Wisps, she transforms it into an Astral
Droplet: an exact physical copy of herself just before her last transformation, wearing identical clothing.
The Droplet has the same mundane Attributes and Skills as its creator, and access to all her memories
as of the time of its creation. However, it lacks energy and imagination; it does not get 10-again on
any dice pool, or any other quality that allows rerolling dice, cannot spend Willpower, and has neither
Virtue nor Vice. The Droplet is also fragile - a single point of damage of any type is enough to dissolve
it into the stuff it was made of and glimmers of light. Finally, the Droplet has none of the Princess’
Light-derived powers, not even Practical Magic.
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The Droplet’s basic duration is 30 minutes for each activation success. The Princess may choose to
extend the duration by spending more Wisps than the minimum of 2 - each extra Wisp doubles the
time before the Droplet disintegrates, cumulatively. She cannot, however, spend more Wisps for this
purpose than half her Inner Light, rounded up. She may choose the total number of Wisps spent after
the activation roll, though she must spend at least 2. She may end the Charm prematurely by touching
the Droplet and concentrating for a turn. A Princess cannot create a second Droplet before the first
Droplet dissolves - the Charm just fails if she tries.
By default the Droplet is an automaton which follows any instruction given to it which does not
pose a threat of physical harm, and otherwise stays wherever it is put; it takes no action on its own. If
the material used to make it resonates with an Invocation the Princess may apply that Invocation to
the Charm (Aria uses thick mist or smoke, or a strong breeze, Lacrima can use total darkness or dark
shadow.) Droplets so formed have some initiative and the rudiments of a personality; in the absence of
clear instructions they follow the tenets of the applied Invocation, to the extent allowed by the knowledge
and abilities the Princess possesses.
Upgrade: Integrated
It’s often useful to know what your double has been doing during your absence. If the Princess dissolves
her Droplet prematurely by touching it and concentrating, she can recall to memory a description of
the actions the Droplet took and the events it saw and heard. A roll to recall any detail of the account
is at -2 in addition to any other penalties.
Upgrade: Lifelike (Specchio •••)
A Lightbringer can use that indescribable quality that makes her reflection “her reflection” instead of
a simple image and use it to place mind and will into the Droplets they make. To apply Lifelike the
Princess needs a reflecting surface large enough to hold an image of her upper body; she takes the
hands of her image and pulls it out of the surface. The resulting Droplet is flipped left-to-right, and
with the opposite dominant hand (the Droplet of yours truly is a rightie for a good reason). The real difference though, is that the Droplet gains a nearly-human initiative and will; it has the Belief dots, Virtues and Vice of its creator, gets 10-again on its dice pools, can benefit from other qualities that permit rerolls, and may spend and regain Willpower (though it begins with none.) The only supernatural ability the Droplet possesses is the ability to Transform and benefit from Transformed skills and attributes, created by Specchio it possesses the Queen of Mirrors' Practical Magic.
The first time the Princess creates this Droplet, its personality exactly matches her
own (including any forms of madness) and aside from the physical inversion they can’t be told apart.
Drawback: By invoking a Lifelike a Princess is summoning an independent being. The Droplet’s
personality does not vanish when its body dissolves; it returns to being her reflection, until she makes
another Lifelike Droplet. At that moment it returns and inhabits the new-made body. Every time
the Princess invokes Lifelike there is a chance that Specchio’s madness will infect her Droplet. Each
time it inhabits a new body the Droplet rolls Resolve + Composure, with a -2 penalty if the Princess
is suffering from Specchio induced madness. If she fails, the Droplet’s falls to Specchio’s arrogance;
she is convinced of her excellence and her right to rule, and resents the Princess taking her rightful
limelight. The Droplet will do what it can to avoid returning to behind the mirror. It can lengthen the
Charm’s duration by spending its own Willpower; it may spend 1 point each day for this, which adds
24 hours of continued embodiment. (The Droplet cannot do this if the Resolve + Composure check
succeeds.) Just what the Droplet does is up to the Storyteller, but it should avoid Compromising it’s
own beliefs.
If the Princess applies Integrated and Lifelike, all her memories since the Droplet’s first creation become
available to it on the same terms as its are available to her after she dissolves it. Other than that,
neither personality can remember what the other has done.

Drawn From Within the Mirror (Appear •••, Specchio ••)
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Crafts
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 Scene
The Princess can reshape mirrors and other reflective surfaces into tools for her use.
Dramatic Failure: The princess begins to reshape the mirror, but a misplaced gesture makes it shatter,
lacerating her hands. She takes one level of lethal damage, and a -1 to all rolls involving her hands for
the rest of the scene.
Failure: The reflective surface will not flow into shape, even if it twists and warps subtly.
Success: The princess touches a reflective surface, and the surface of the mirror flows like liquid metal
into her grasp, forming an object with Size less than or equal to the size of the reflective surface. The
object, apparently made of light and reflections and quicksilver, provides a number of bonus dice equal
to the successes rolled to any skill which it could aid. The Storyteller is to use their discretion for this;
while a beautiful dress can be used with many social skills, a knife is pretty much limited to Weaponry,
and possibly Intimidate, rolls. The equipment bonus is capped at +5.
The tool is fragile and brittle - it has 0 Durability and just 1 Structure. If it takes damage, it is
destroyed. It must be a single item with no moving or electronic parts, with the exception of clothing,
which may provide an entire set of clothing. The item lasts for a scene, and at the end of it, it falls into
dust. Since it is made of the reflective surface of the mirror or metal, the item is defaced, and must be
repaired or repolished before it will reflect again.
Exceptional Success: The tool is crafted with such skill that it is more resilient to damage, and has
3 Structure rather than 1.
Suggested modifiers:
• -2 : Surface of water, reflection is weak and inconstant
• -1 : Tin foil
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• 0: Modern mirror
• +2 : Reflection is especially clear, mirror is highly valued (Resources 3+) or of great sentimental
value to someone.
Cloaks of Mist (Appear ••••, Acqua •••)
Requires: Dim
Action: Instant and contested, Manipulation + Stealth vs. Wits + Composure + supernatural advantage
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess summons a dew that falls on targets whose total Size does not exceed 5 times her successes.
For the duration, the targets fade from the notice and memory of all save the Princess and each other;
each benefits from the effects of Dim.
Upgrade: Traceless
The targets are concealed from recording devices as well.
Upgrade: Veiled
The targets may activate Charms (or other obviously supernatural powers) without automatically
attracting the attention of observers.

Garden of Bright Images (Appear ••••)
Requires: Phantom
Action: Extended, Presence + Expression (1 minute/roll, threshold = Sanctuary + duration in hour).
Cost: (Sanctuary rating) Wisps
Duration: 1 or more hours
The Princess decorates her surroundings with a beautiful glamour. She chooses an area to affect and a
time for the glamour to last when she starts working on the Charm.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess deceives only herself; she sees the area transformed according to her
intentions, but everyone else sees it as it really is
Failure: The Princess makes no progress towards the Threshold.
Success: When the Princess reaches the threshold, the appearance of every nonliving thing in the
targeted area is transformed to match a theme the Princess chooses. (For instance, “formal ballroom”,
“open bazaar”, “African jungle” and “undersea grotto” are all valid themes.) Permanent fixtures
are always changed; she can choose whether to change people’s possessions, but cannot affect some
possessions and not others. As long as the Charm lasts, the changed objects look, sound, feel and even
smell like what they appear to be; observers may make Perception rolls to spot something wrong with
the illusion, but they take a penalty equal to the Princess’ successes.
Exceptional Success: If the Princess scores an Exceptional Success on her extended roll then mundane
senses cannot penetrate the illusion.
Upgrade: Palatine
The Princess may take advantage of a Consecrated Condition. When she does so, the illusion covers
all the Consecrated ground and lasts until the Condition expires or she dismisses the Charm; treat the
duration as 0 when calculating the threshold.

I'm the Best! (Bless •, Specchio •)
Action: Reflexive and Contested, Presence + Wits vs Composure + supernatural advantage
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 extended action
Others might say that they are the masters of their fields. But, simply, the Enlightened of the Queen of
Mirrors know this to be false. They can’t be better. This Charm can be used to enhance any contested
extended action against an opponent who has a higher dice pool than they do. Each success removes
one dice from the target’s pool, and adds one dice to the Noble’s pool. The number of dice transferred is
capped by the Specchio rating of the Noble; such glorious victory comes from one’s own strength, after
all. This may not reduce the target’s pool to less than zero. This Charm only applies to a single roll; it
must be re-invoked to apply to other rolls in the extended action.
Upgrade: Truly
Stacks, up to 3
On actions where this Charm is used, once the dice transfer has been applied, the Noble may then
add +1 to their own pool, as if it were coming from a Speciality in “Defeating (opponent’s name)”.
Upgrade: Triumphantly (Specchio 4)
The limitation that the target must have a higher initial dice pool than the Noble is now waived. In
addition, if the foe is reduced to a dice pool of zero, the Noble may reflexively spend a Willpower point
to force a Dramatic Failure.

Intuitive Flash (Bless ••)
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Academics
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess grants knowledge and ability to someone within sight. For each success, the target gains
one additional speciality, provided by a stack of the Blessing Condition. The Princess chooses which
specialities are bestowed.
Intuitive Flash does not stack with other supernatural powers that provide specialties. The target
chooses which blessing they wish to benefit from and discards any others.

Touch of Fortune (Bless ••)
Action: Reflexive, Wits + Occult
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Duration: 1 scene
The Princess grants a blessing of good fortune to a person she can see. The next rolls made by the target,
up to a number equal to the activation successes, gain the 9-again quality. A Princess may cast Touch of
Fortune at the same moment another person acts to bless that roll. If there are blessings unused when
the scene ends, they are lost. The Charm may not be used on anyone currently affected by it.
Upgrade: Well-timed
The target’s good fortune comes when most needed. Before the target makes a roll, he declares whether
the Charm will affect it. The number of rolls affected does not change.
Upgrade: Strong
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess grants a stronger blessing; the rolls affected by the Charm gain the 8-again quality.
Upgrade: Perfected
Requires Strong
Cost: +3 Wisps
The blessed actions become deceptively easy; instead of gaining 9-again the rolls affected by the Charm
gain the rote quality. Strong and Perfected cannot both be applied to the same activation.

Light’s Aegis (Bless •••)
Action: Instant, Presence + Resolve
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess extends a portion of her mantle over another person, granting him the power to ward off
injuries. The Charm may not be used on anyone currently affected by it or anyone who has been affected
by it in the current scene.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess mishandles her power and injures herself. She takes 1 resistant lethal
damage.
Failure: The target is unprotected by the Charm.
Success: The target has limited access to the Princess’ Holy Shield. He takes the Aegis Tilt: each
activation success each creates one shield-point which is equivalent to one Wisp spent on Holy Shield:
A shield-point can be spent to downgrade Aggravated to Lethal damage, downgrade Lethal damage
to Bashing damage, or negate all but the first point of Bashing damage. The Aegis may spend the
same number of shield-points per turn as the caster’s Wisps per turn. The Tilt stacks with the innate
Holy Shield if used on a Noble; both may be used against an attack.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward.

Razzle Dazzle (Connect •)
Action: Permanent
When the Princess transforms, she has a honeyed tongue; people readily listen to anything she chooses
to say. She gets the 9-again quality on mundane Persuasion rolls within one of her specialities (fixed
when she takes the Charm) and she may apply an Invocation to those rolls.
Upgrade: Versatile
Stacks, up to 2
The range of the Princess’ persuasive talents expands. Each time she takes this upgrade, she adds
another speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for rolls covered by any of the
added specialities.
Upgrade: Seductive (Specchio ••)
Requires: Striking Looks
The Princess has a gift for flirtation, and for tempting people into indiscretion. At the start of a
seduction attempt, she may reflexively spend 1 Wisp when she opens the first Door, if she does so she
will open a second Door as though she had rolled an Exceptional Successes (on an actual Exceptional
Success she opens three Doors). If the Princess has two dots in Striking Looks she may do so again
when opens Doors for the second time.
This is not affecting her target with magic, the Princess is just that good at flirting.

You Didn't Earn My Love (Connect ••, Specchio •••)
Requires: Razzle Dazzle, Seductive
Action: Reflexive, Manipulation + Persuasion vs Composure + supernatural advantage
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Specchio days
When the Princess attempts to seduce someone she may inflict the Suitor condition upon her target. The
Princess chooses the token of affection that will grant willpower. The token must be related to romance
with the Princess using this Charm, something along the lines of: Agreeing to go out on a date, a kiss,
marriage. It cannot involve direct harm to oneself, not even something minor along the lines of “get
humiliated by me”. While she may refuse to give the winning kiss until her target does her a favour, the
favour cannot be the goal itself.

Meet Cute (Connect ••, Specchio •••)
Action: Instant and contested, Presence + Expression vs Composure + Supernatural Advantage;
Requires one minute of performing.
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: One scene
The True Heir the pinnacle of grace and beauty, and what better accessory to go with an elegant crown
than a matching handsome prince?
First, The Princess describes a person by describing a set of criteria, these can refer to traits on the
character sheet, “he must have five dots of Resources” or to something less defined “he must have perfect
teeth”. She may define at most one criteria for every dot she has in Specchio. Then she charges herself
up with magic. When she first sees somebody who fits the criteria roll their Composure + Supernatural
Advantage against the Princess’ original success.
Dramatic Failure by the Princess: The madness of Specchio fills the Princess’s mind with cracks. She
gains the Yandere Condition, they are unaffected.
The Princess scores no successes or looses the roll: Nothing happens.
The Princess wins the roll: The Princess gains the First Impressions condition, and through confidence
and Specchio she reflects her “love” onto her target. Both take the First Impressions condition, setting
each other to perfect impressions.
Upgrade: Girls out Hunting
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social group whose members can see her, applying the
Commonalty modifier. Each member of the group may choose their own criteria.

Ivory Gate (Connect •••)
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Socialize
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 night
The Princess binds her mind to another; when they next fall asleep they will share their dreams. The
Charm grants both the gift of lucid dreaming for the night and clear memories the morning after. To
open an Ivory Gate a Princess needs permission from the target, and the pair must sleep close enough
to touch.
A lesser known use of this Charm is that it interacts with Crawlspaces. Normally the only way into
another person’s Crawlspace is to travel through the Dreamlands, but while two people are connected
by an Invocation of Ivory Gate they may see the entrance to each others Crawlspace. Only the owner
of the Crawlspace may unlock it, but they may lead others. Every traveller must pay 1 Wisp or one
Willpower.
The other, even more obscure, use of Ivory Gates is to invoke it on oneself. This seems to be a
waste of good Wisps, but while she is within her own Crawlspace and under the effects of a self-applied
Invocation of this Charm, she will be able to navigate from her Crawlspace into a regular dream (and
yes, she can bring others too but they don’t benefit from lucidity or clear memories unless Ivory Gate is
invoked upon them). An expensive but effective cure for insomnia or a fun night of lucid dreaming.
Upgrade: Distant
Modify the roll by Intimacy
The Princess can enter a dream from any distance. She still requires permission, but a simple phonecall
or arangeing in advance is sufficient.
Upgrade: Dream of Me (Specchio ••)
The Princess no longer needs permission to enter another’s dreams, and can even open an Ivory
Gate without giving the gift of lucid dreaming to the other party. This Upgrade can also be used
to invade somebody’s dream from the Dreamlands and even allow a full invasion of another person’s
dreamscape (see Amanojaku for more details on how to access a person’s dream from
the Dreamlands, and how to invade a dreamscape), doing so requires that the Princess navigates
through the Crawlspace into the target’s dream. They may not detour or use the Crawlspace in any
way except as a path into the Dreams, this Charm simply doesn’t have the power.

Mirror Walk (Connect ••••, Specchio ••)
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Athletics, modified by Intimacy
Cost: 3 Wisps
Duration: Instant
A simple trick but a very useful one. The Princess targets two mirrors before stepping into one
and out the other. Both mirrors must be large enough for her to fit through. Intimacy is measured to
place the Princess wishes to arrive at, if it has no Mirrors large enough to squeeze out of the Charm
automatically fails and the Princess knows why. If it has more than one suitable mirror than the Princess
can choose to rive at any mirror she knows about.
The Charm cannot cross between realms. This may not be used to exit or leave the hisil of the shapeshifters, the twisted thorn-world of the fae-folk, or any other such hidden place. However, should a Princess find herself in any of these alternate worlds, it may be used for transit within them if such a thing is possible within the alien dimension.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess enters the mirror, but gets lost. She rolls Wits + Composure each
turn after using the Charm; when she succeeds, she emerges from the mirror she left. If the mirror is
shatters in the interim she emerges somewhere nearby.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The Princess transports herself to the target mirror.
Exceptional Success: When the Princess emerges, she may immediately move up to her Speed, even if
she had to move to reach the mirror she left.
Upgrade: Leading
Cost: +1 Wisp per additional person
With this Upgrade the Princess can now lead others through mirrors. Each extra person or 5 Size
points of equipment beyond what she can carry costs an additional Wisp.
Upgrade: Seeking (Specchio •••)
With this Upgrade the Princess can use her Intimacy modifier to a person instead of a place. She will
arrive at the nearest appropriate mirror, assuming their is one in an area about the size of a modest
family home.
If she prefers the Princess can also use her Intimacy modifier to a physical mirror, which can come in
handy if you can get your bedroom mirror posted somewhere useful (you can reach through the mirror
to remove obstructions like packaging, just be careful not to damage a mirror while you are half way
through.)
Upgrade: Writ of Passage
The Princess learns how to combine her magical mirrors with complementary magic to travel beyond
the world. If she knows a Charm, Edict or Privilege that allows access to another world, or she works
with someone who does, then she may use Mirror Walk and travel to a mirror in that world, Intimacy
permitting. Doing so requires that the activation cost of the other power be paid in full. She may also
use Writ of Passage to return from other worlds –though some worlds are infamous for being easier to
enter than to escape.

Standing on a Pedestal (Connect ••••, Specchio •••)
Action: Extended, Presence + Persuasion (30 minutes/roll, threshold = target’s Willpower), modified
by Intimacy
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Duration: 1 month
In a lengthy ceremony, invoking all she knows of him, the Princess weaves the thread of another person’s
fate into hers, giving him opportunities to prove himself worthy of her.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess gains the Yandere Condition focused on the target.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If she does not reach the threshold, she cannot use the
Charm on the target again for 1 week.
Success: The Princess makes progress. the target gains the Blessing Condition. The affected trait is
the Entwined Destiny Merit.
Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great progress tying her destiny to the target’s.
The target’s Entwined Destiny makes him a seeker for the Princess’ approval; she can choose what
kind of favour he is destined to seek. He may be a romantic suitor, and fulfil the destiny when he earns
a sign of her affections. He may seek her social favour, and fulfil the destiny when she compliments him
on his apparel, or invites him to a party. He may even seek her intellectual favour, and fulfil the destiny
when she publicly approves of an idea he had. The general rule is that the target gains Willpower when
the Princess chooses to bestow a sign of her approval upon him, and suffers penalties when he refuses an
opportunity to seek the Princess’ favour. He does not suffer penalties when he makes a genuine attempt
to win her favour, regardless of how the Princess reacts.
Unlike the Radiant Queens’ Charms of Entwined Destiny, it is perfectly possible to use Standing on
a Pedestal on an unwilling target. It is however a Belief 4 compromise to do so (it is not a compromise
to use it against targets who give informed consent). Further degeneration checks may be called for if
the Princess takes advantage of people she has woven a destiny for. As a general rule, it doesn’t count
as consent if they’re only saying it as a result of an artificial destiny.
Upgrade: Collective (Specchio ••••)
Cost: +1 Willpower
The Princess may bind many favour-seekers to herself at once, if they are all present. The Charm is
modified by Commonalty of the target group, which must include the Princess, instead of by Intimacy.
Upgrade: Taut
Cost: +1 Wisp
The thread that ties the Princess to her target pulls them together. The Princess and her target gain
the Entwined condition. The strenght of the link is equivalent to an Intimate connection of Love,
regardless of the connection they had before. When the Charm ends their Intimacy returns to it’s
natural level.
If the Princess applies Collective and Taut, she gains the Interwoven condition becomes a member of
the target group for the purposes of Commonalty Charms, instead of improving her Intimacy with any
of them. The link strength is whatever the group members have with each other.

Levinbolt (Fight •)
Action: Permanent
A ranged weapon becomes part of the Princess’ Regalia, delivering the force of her will from afar. It can
appear as nearly anything; wizards’ staffs, futuristic pistols, wands of ice, and daggers that fly back to
the hand are all known examples. Regardless of the weapon’s form, the Princess uses the Firearms Skill
to attack with the weapon. Initially the weapon’s Damage is 1 but when she attacks the Princess may
apply an Invocation to add Damage or additional dice to her pool, this stacks with any damage or bonus
dice from Upgrades but in either case the maximum is 5. The princess may not apply an Invocation to
both Damage and Accuracy in a single turn.
The weapon’s range is (10/20/40) * Inner Light in yards, its clip holds 3 shots and it allows
autofire. The damage can be either Bashing or Lethal and the Princess can swap between them with a
Transformation action. The weapon always has a Size between 1 and 4. For anyone but the Princess,
the Initiative penalty and the minimum Strength needed to use the weapon both equal three + the
Princess’ Inner Light For the Princess herself, both are 0 - as an extension of her will, the weapon
obeys her desires as well as her own hands.
The weapon is unloaded when the Princess summons it, unless she spends a Wisp as she does so; at
any time as an instant action, she may spend 1 Wisp to reload it, conjuring shots directly into the clip.
Upgrade: Accurate
Stacks, up to 3
The Princess wields her weapon with supernatural skill. Each time the Princess takes this upgrade,
she gains 1 bonus die when attacking with her weapon.
Upgrade: Damaging
Stacks, up to 3
Each time the Princess takes this upgrade, she adds 1 to her weapon’s Damage.
Upgrade: Multiple
Stacks, up to 2 times
The first time a character takes this upgrade, the weapon’s clip grows to 10 shots, allowing a medium
burst of autofire. On the second purchase, the clip grows to 30 shots, allowing a long burst. No matter
how large the clip, 1 Wisp is enough to reload the weapon completely.
Upgrade: Long
The weapon’s range doubles, to (20/40/80) * Inner Light in yards.
Upgrade: Trickshot (Specchio ••)
The Princess’s weapon fires a bolt of pure light in an impossible shot. She might aim over her shoulder
with a mirror, ricochet the bolt several times to her target or shoot a target 100 foot away from the
hip. She ignores up to her Specchio in penalties for long range, called shots, concealment and other
similar modifiers.

Befriending (Fight ••, Specchio ••)
Action: Reflexive, no roll is required
Cost: None
The Queen of Mirrors wants everyone to get along, in service to the True Queen. Isn’t that nice?
Sadly, violence is sometimes necessary, but violence should always serve a higher cause, and bind people
together. If a character is defeated in combat by the Princess this Charm can be used to apply the Fresh
Impressions Condition to the target. For one week the Condition sets their Impressions to Good. Some
storyteller discretion may be needed to define defeated.
This power does not work upon Creatures of the Darkness, not even Darkened. At the Storyteller’s
discretion other fundamentally evil beings may also be immune.

One Woman Warband (Fight ••, Specchio •••)
Action: Reactive, unrolled
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 turn
What’s more impressive than flamboyantly taking down an opponent without a scratch? Flamboyantly
taking down ten opponents. When the Princess activates One Woman Warband she makes a dodge
action during which susequent attacks will not decrease her Defence. Instead each attack within a turn
adds +1 to her dice pool for dodging. She may never increase her dicepool above three times Specchio
or double her Defence. Whichever one is higher.
Upgrade: Countered
At the end of the turn the Princess may make one counter attack with a dicepool equal to the number
of people who attacked her this turn. If her target attacked her and missed this turn she gains a bonus
die.

Load Cartridge (Fight •••)
Requires Kensai or Levinbolt
Action: Instant, Unrolled
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 Scene
The World of Darkness is full of strange and weird monsters, and sometimes a Princess’ magic isn’t
the right tool for the job. By taking a sample, at least the size of a finger, of any mundane physical
material the Princess may load it into her Levinbolt or Kensai weapon. For the remainder of the scene
attacks with the enhanced weapon count as both the loaded material and magic and should be treated
appropriately when compared to a supernatural (or natural) weakness and when up against defences
that protect against specific materials. If Princess applies an Invoked Upgrade to her attack, the attack
counts as magical, the loaded material, and the Invocation’s element all at once.
Any Transformation action that modifies the Princess’ weapon will end this charm early.

Living Image (Inspire •)
Requires: 2 dots in Crafts or Expression, and a speciality in creating art
Action: Instant, Inner Light + Presence
Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower
Duration: Indefinite
Artists among the Hopeful have can infuse the Light into their art, and make it bring forth magic.
This Charm enchants artwork, turning into a vessel to hold and invoke another Charm. The art to be
enchanted may be created through mundane, technological or magical means but it must be a product
of the Princess’ creativity and it must be designed specifically to carry the chosen Charm. The art is
about, means, the Charm it holds, so a wholly or partly finished work on another subject cannot carry
the intended Charm.
The Princess first chooses the Charm, Upgrades, and the precise effects (for example, which emotion
the Charm Feel So Close will enhance) she desires. The Princess then creates her art to express the
ideas and emotions of the chosen charm, using the normal rules for that. When the artwork is ready the
Princess casts Living Image upon it to turn her art into a vessel.
Once the art is enchanted the Princess may touch it and invoke the appropriate charm to fill the
vessel at any time. Record the Princess’ activation successes when she charges her artwork, note that
Charms that don’t require a roll are not compatible with Living Image, also note that Inspire Charms
do not require a performance to be placed into a work of art.
When someone takes the time to appreciate her artwork, by viewing it, reading it, or even eating it if
that’s what is appropriate then the Charm is invoked using the same Successes as the Princess originally
rolled.
• A Charm that affects the Princess activating it, instead affects the artwork.
• When the artwork’s Charm requires touching a target, its target becomes someone touching the
artwork. This usually means a tactile or taste artistic medium (such as a story written in braille).
• When the artwork’s Charm affects a target within sight or a specified distance, its target is the
closet person currently appreciating the artwork.
• When the artwork’s Charm affects an area, its target is the artwork’s immediate neighbourhood
and it affects everyone appreciating the art at the moment of invocation.
• When the artwork’s Charm is modified by Intimacy, the target is fixed as part of making the
artwork, and the art will only invoke it’s effects when the targeted person appreciates it.
• When the artwork’s Charm is modified by Commonalty, the minimum Commonality is chosen
when creating the artwork. When the art invokes it’s effects when the first person to appreciate it
and a group they belong to that meets the minimum Commonality, chosen to affect the maximum
number targets. With a Commonality of Casual it will reliably affect everyone appreciating the
art at the time the Charm is activated.
Living Image lasts until the magical artwork is damaged in such a way as that it no longer provides
the desired experience (a painting is visually disfigured, a dress gets torn, etc) or the Princess wishes
it; it does not end when the Princess returns to mundane form. Living Image does not end when the
artwork’s effect is triggered. The Charm contained within the artwork is expended but the artwork itself
is still a vessel and the Princesses can simply walk up to her artwork and cast the same Charm again to
refill it.
At any one time a Princess may have Inner Light + Belief different works of art enhanced with Living
Image. Artwork that has used up it’s Charm still counts towards this limit.
Gems created by the Specchio Charm Enduring Beauty can be used to empower art created by Living
Image, doing so requires that the art revolve around a deception of the human form. As these are Brats,
it’s often a depiction of the Princess creating the Art.
The gems embedded in the artwork cause it to constantly produce Wisps allowing the art to replenish
it’s own Charm again and again. A gem worth Resources 3 produces 1 Wisp a day and always rolls two success.
Upgrade: Duplicated
While some methods of creating artwork do not lend themselves to duplication, others are the exact
opposite. A story can be photocopied without loosing any of it’s artistic value.
With this upgrade a Princess can convert her artwork into vessels en mass. She could invoke Living
Image on a computer document and start printing out copies or she could invoke Living Image on
a bowl of cake mixture and start pouring it into individual cupcakes. Each instance of her artwork
beyond the first costs one Wisp and all enchanted works must be created within the same scene. In
addition each one must be filled with charms independently, though at the Storyteller’s discretion the
player may be permitted to roll only once to keep the game moving quickly.
Duplicated artwork only counts as a single work towards the Princess’ maximum uses of Living Image.
Upgrade: Gallery
Stacks, up to 4
The Princess can now sustain magic in more artwork. Each time she takes this upgrade, she adds two
to the number of Living Image activations she may have up at once.
Upgrade: Light Attuned
The Princess may specify that her artwork will only invoke Charms upon Beacons, Princesses, Sworn,
or any combination of those three groups. Alternatively, she may specify that her artwork won’t affect
the Light touched.
Upgrade: Remote
The Princess may refill her artwork with fresh Charms without being in it’s physical presence. She
must modify her Charm activation roll by her Intimacy to the artwork itself.
Remote can be combined with Duplicated, but not easily. Unless a Princess feels different emotions
about the various copies of her artwork she will be unable to choose which copy she refills.

Fire on the Mountain (Inspire •)
A musical instrument, a microphone, dancing shoes, a pen or some other artistic tool becomes part of
the Princess’ Regalia. The tool is of excellent make, giving the 9-again quality to mundane Expression
rolls within one of her Specialities (fixed when she takes the Charm) when using it, and the Princess
may apply an Invocation to increase this bonus.
Upgrade: Quality
Stacks, up to 3
The Princess’ tool becomes superlative. Each time she takes this upgrade, the instrument confers a
+1 equipment bonus to mundane Expression rolls within her Speciality.
Upgrade: Magical
The Princess weaves her magic into her chosen art. She can add her instrument’s equipment bonus to
her Inspire Charms to offset a Commonalty penalty, if she incorporates playing the instrument into
the Charm activation. The instrument’s bonus will not reduce the Commonalty penalty to less than
-0; if a Charm doesn’t take the Commonalty modifier, the instrument provides no benefit.
Upgrade: Heartthrob (Specchio ••)
The Princess’ performance leaves all who hear it cowed by her manifest superiority, and ready to obey
her. When she applies Specchio to a roll to play her instrument, all members of the audience with a
composure lower than the Princess’ Successes gain the Swooning Condition focused on the Princess.

Mirror Mirror (Learn ••, Specchio ••)
Action: Instant, Inner Light + Investigation - Intimacy.
Cost: 1 Wisp or 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 Scene
With this trick a Princess of Mirrors can look into one mirror and see out another. Choose one person,
the Princess will see out of whichever mirror gives the best viewpoint of that person. If she spends a
second Wisp then both mirrors will show each other (this is usually used with the Upgrade I hear you
to create magical phones). The Intimacy modifier is of course measured to the person, not the mirror.
The Princess is limited by the quality of the two mirrors used, a low quality mirror that gives a bad
reflection gives a low quality image.
Upgrade: I Hear You
The Princess can also hear through mirrors. If a mirror gives a bad picture it also gives bad audio.
Upgrade: On The Wall (Specchio •••)
The Princess does not have to look for a specific person, she can see out of any mirror she wishes.
Perhaps a mirror she secretly placed overlooking that Darkspawn’s lair. The Intimacy modifier applies
to the place she wishes to see, or the mirror she’s looking out of. Whichever gives the lower penalty.
Upgrade: Who’s the Fairest in the Land? (Specchio •••••)
Cost +1 Wisp.
The Princess asks a mirror a question to which the answer must be a person and cannot require
precognition to determine. “Who murdered Miss Daisy?”, “Who snitched on me to the teachers?”
are good examples. “How do I break into this stronghold?”, “Who will win the student
election?” are bad examples.
The Storyteller should answer in good faith to the best of her ability by presenting a glimpse of a
scene that answers the question. Creative interpretation of the question and other low tricks should
only be used on a Dramatic Failure.
Unlike other uses of Mirror Mirror, this upgrade does not make use of the Princess’ connection to her
target, but draws answers directly from the tapestry of fate. This means you do not apply an Intimacy
modifier. On the other hand you only get to watch for 1 turn per success.

Moving Finger (Learn •••)
Action: Instant, Inner Light + Investigation
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess mentally describes an object. She becomes aware of the location of the nearest object
matching the description within 25 yards and may increase the range by taking a penalty to the dice roll
at a rate of 25 yards per die. Mundane concealment cannot defend against this Charm. The description
must be phrased in terms of the object’s composition and form, not its significance or intended use. For
example, “audiotapes”, “letters in my father’s handwriting”, and “weak places in the wall” all work;
“incriminating evidence”, “letters about my father”, and “something that will help me escape” do not.
A Princess can find only one object at a time; if she activates Moving Finger when she already has it
active, the first use ends immediately.
Upgrade: General
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess becomes aware of every object matching the description within range. She can find
objects matching only one description at a time.

Reflected Portents (Learn •••, Specchio •••)
Action: Instant, Composure + Investigation
Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower
How does the Queen of Mirrors know who is the true heir? Simple, she can see the future. Or maybe not,
since none of her many True Heirs fulfilled their supposed destiny. Regardless of the truth surrounding
the Lightbringer’s mysterious Queen, it is a fact that the Invocation of Specchio unlocks powers of
precognition beyond the dreams common to all Enlightened.
To perceive the mysteries of time and space the Princess decides which question she wishes to ask,
she has to ask about a single person’s future. “Will I be crowned the prom queen?” or “when will I next
be attacked is ok?”. The princess could even ask “who will next attack me” because that is part of her
personal timeline but she could not ask “who will be the next Miss Sweden?”.
The Princess doesn’t have to ask about herself, she could ask who will next attack anyone. All she
needs is a mirror positioned so she can see the subject of her question within.
There is a modifier to the roll based on it’s temporal proximity, because of this the Storyteller should
always roll for Reflected Portents. A smart player can learn much from just the modifer.
--------------------------
Temporal Flux
Within a day: 0 Within a week: -1 Within a month: -2 Within a year: -3 Within
five years: -4 Within 10 years: -5 Every additional ten years: an additional -1
--------------
Dramatic Failure: Guided by Fate, or perhaps an unwelcome hint from her own subconscious the
Princess sees a horrifying vision. Such as the brutal murder of a close friend. Like all prophecies it’s
not guaranteed to come true, but she still needs to make a Sensitivity roll.
Failure: The future remains unclear, either nothing happens or the Princess gets a completely accurate
vision of a clear blue sky sometime in the future. Or the depths of space, or tv static.
Success: After a few moments the mirror fades to reveal a vision of the future. The player asks one
question per Success which the vision will answer. Both sight and sound are provided by the mirror,
though both are limited by the quality of the mirror. Anyone looking at the mirror (which doesn’t
have to be the Princess, if she turns the mirror away after the Charm takes effect) can see the vision.
Visions revealed in Reflected Portents are entirely true and accurate, but may nevertheless change for
the future remains in flux. Strange beings move outside of Fate, time travellers occasionally change
history, even the Princess’ vision of the future may introduce new variables into the timeline; perhaps
allowing her to escape a horrible fate.
Exceptional Success: Extra Successes are their own reward.
The Princess can only invoke this Charm on the same event once per day. Additionally she cannot
learn anything from the past or the present (defined as the current scene). If the Princess asks about
a past or present event roll as normal. On a Success reveal that it has already happened but give no
further details. If the question has multiple answers; such as asking who will I marry, for someone likely
to marry many times, choose the soonest event as defined by the dicepool modifier. If there are multiple
events within the same time period favour big and “noticeable” events.
Upgrade: Distant (Specchio ••••)
The Princess can prophecies about a distant target by adding Intimacy to the roll. She must name
who she is targeting before rolling.
Upgrade: What will be? ( Specchio •••••)
The Princess no longer needs to name a specific person to scry against. She can instead ask a freeform
question like “where will the next Tainted Place in this town appear?” If more than one person, place
or other fits the question then the Charm favours the lowest dicepool modifier from temporal distance.
If there are multiple possibilities at the same modifier, the Charm favours big and “noticeable” events.

Beauty is Talented (Perfect •, Specchio •)
Action: Instant, Presence + Composure
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: successes in turns
Don’t you know that beautiful people are just better than you? Pretty people are stronger, faster,
smarter, more talented than regular people. Until the Charm ends the Princess can add her Striking
Looks bonus to any roll. In situations where Striking Looks usually applies this Charm does not stack
the bonus with itself.

Persistently Peachy Pretty Perfect (Perfect ••Specchio •)
Action: Permanent
A Princess is so stunning the universe itself cannot bear to mar her exquisite form. Any sensory effect
that would grant her a negative situational modifier to social rolls, if her Specchio is equal to or greater
than the modifier, is automatically nullified. For example a Princess with Specchio 2 is sprayed with
mud by a passing car. Since this only gives a -2 penalty it is magically prevented, not a drop of mud
sticks to the Princess. This effect protects the Princess from humiliation on all five senses, she wont
smell of mud, nor will her skin feel muddy to the touch.
Drawback: Only the effects on appearance are protected. A Princess with Specchio 5 might be able
to walk through miles of raw sewage and still look and smell fresh as a daisy afterwords but she is not
protected from catching horrible diseases.

Outrace the Sun (Perfect •••)
Requires: Celestial Dance (1x Swift)
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Athletics
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess can reach the speeds of a car on the open road. Until the Charm ends, she follows the rules
for vehicles when running. Her Acceleration is the higher of Inner Light or the applied Invocation in MPH. Her safe speed is 30MPH * Inner Light or the applied Invocation, whichever is higher. Her maximum speed is 75MPH * Inner Light or the applied Invocation, whichever is higher.
Upgrade: Royal Chariot
While running the Princess may carry others with supernatural ease, to her they become weightless.
While they are being carried by the Princess other characters also share her protection against air
resistance.
Theoretically the Princess can carry one person per dot of Inner Light or her applied Invocation at any
one time. In practice it’s really hard to carry more than two people of your size at a time without their
feet dragging the ground (which is not recommended at these speeds). However there are solutions, like
growing massive with Royal Stature, turning into an animal better suited for carrying others through
Skinchange, or creating a very large Bequest.

One Perfect Woman (Perfect •••••, Specchio ••••)
Action: Instant and contested, Presence + Persuasion - Commonalty vs. Composure + supernatural
advantage
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Duration: 1 scene
The true heir to the Kingdom, according to the Queen of Mirrors, is a living personification of the Light
itself - her word becomes truth, her actions mighty, her presence a bastion of hope across the land.
Mirrors’ avatar, who may be that heir someday, can assume the heir’s attributes for a time, when her
followers need her.
The Princess uses this Charm on members of a social group over whom she has some influence or
authority, none of whom are Hopeful; the member with the best Composure rolls to resist. If the Princess
gets more successes - even just one - she gains a personal presence and magnetism that sways all who
see or hear her; she has the benefits of the Pure Perfection Condition granting the Royal Tongue merit
(if she does not already have it) and Striking Looks two, she looks like “The Best Person Ever!” which
covers most things.
The Princess’ magnetism is even stronger on the targeted social group; they perceive the Princess as
a paragon, the epitome of beauty and charm. They all get the True Follower Condition. Against them
the Princess’ striking looks counts as five dots, and the Princess may spend their Willpower in place of
her own Wisps at a 1:1 ratio. Note that taking Willpower from anyone without permission is a Belief
Compromise with a -3 penalty.

Somebody Else's Problem (Restore •••, Specchio ••)
Action: Reflexive, Intelligence + Composure - Shadows
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Lasting
No matter how may of her Heirs fail spectacularly the Queen of Mirrors never shows pause in her
tireless endeavours. Some speculate that she wants her chosen to fail, those who know of this Charm
often give a different reason. They say that unable to bear the weight of so many failures she has chosen
to forget about them and so she crafted a Charm to do just that. Only those Princesses with memories of the Palace of Five Folded Stars itself remember that the Queen of Mirrors was once the Hierophant-
Queen. With her magic she could see across time and space and often saw secrets best forgotten; hinting
that there was once a more noble purpose to this Charm.
Somebody Else’s Problem erases the user’s memories. It’s as simple as that. This Charm can take
the weight of Sensitivity off a Princess’ shoulder, for what she does not know cannot hurt her. The most
common use of this Charm is to instantly end a Haunting by forgetting all about the action that caused
it.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess completely messes up her own mind. Choose one wide ranging topic
like “Academics ”, “my family” or “Connect Charms”. The Princess gains the Amnesia Condition
covering that topic, it goes away at the end of the scene.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The Princess erases everything she remembers of the last few minutes, up to at most 3 minutes
for each success. The memories are not just suppressed, they are gone as though they had never existed.
The Princess knows only that she has erased her own memory. No magic or psychological technique
will let the Princess regain her memories; however, she is not prevented from forming new memories
about the topic. The effects of all Sensitivity rolls during the forgotten time are nullified, including
Hauntings and new Shadows. Somebody Else’s Problem cannot give free dots of Belief, but erasing
all memory of a Belief Compromise will allow a Princess to buy back lost Belief with experience. This
is purely an out of character rule rule, but the Storyteller is free to explain the lost experience as
valuable life experiences being erased if she wishes.
Exceptional Success: No further benefit.
Upgrade: Retroactive
The Princess may erase her memories up to one day after they have formed. The maximum time
erased by a single use remains the same, but she can now use multiple invocations to erase longer
periods. Some Princesses use the extra time to write notes to themselves, but knowing what happened
is no substitute for experiencing it.

Reclaim (Restore ••••, Acqua •••)
Requires: Bath of Souls
Action: Extended and resisted (10 minutes/roll), Presence + Medicine - target’s Resolve
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Duration: Lasting
The Princess restores a shattered mind to sanity. Reclaim can remove any Condition that represents
a malign mental effect. The exception is those that are innate to a Supernatural Template, a Princess
cannot heal a Werewolf’s rage or a Mad Scientist’s madness. She also cannot heal Conditions gained from
a Belief Compromise, an Integrity Breaking Point that was caused by perpetrating an immoral action
or Conditions caused damage to other integrity traits that arose from acting immorally (by human
standards).
Specchio does not automatically count as immoral but like any Invocation it can be used for good or ill. If the Condition was caused by using Specchio then the target’s dots in Specchio are subtracted from the Princess’ roll. Reclaim requires a conscious target, but not a cooperative one; if the target does cooperate, the
Princess does not subtract their Resolve from the roll.

Bubble Shield (Shape •)
Action: Instant or Reactive, Stamina + Crafts
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 turn
The Princess manifests a protective shield around a circular area. She may create the shield around any
area within sight, taking a penalty on the activation roll equal to the area’s radius in yards, and may do
so in response to any action taken by another character within her line of sight. A bubble shield cannot
form when it contain someone who does not wish to be contained. As a general rule, non-combatants
that the Princess wishes to protect are acceptable targets.
Normally creating a Bubble Shield takes an instant action, the Princess may forgo her Defence for a
turn to invoke the shield as a Reactive action.
Bubble Shields only last for a turn but if a Princess uses Bubble Shield to protect the same area as
her next action, the new shield replaces the old with no gap of time.
Dramatic Failure: The shield fails to appear, and the Princess leaves herself open to attack. She has
-2 to her Defense this turn; if she sacrificed Defense, she loses her action this turn.
Failure: The shield does not appear.
Success: The shield appears, taking the form of a spherical section with the area’s radius. It will not
cut through any solid object; if the shield cannot enclose an object it will stop at the object’s surface.
In such cases the shield still forms a fully enclosed shape that presses tightly against obstructions. If there are no obstacles the shield simply forms a perfect sphere. The shield is not subject to the force
of gravity - as long as it exists, it stays exactly where the Princess created it.
The shield blocks both movement and attacks through itself, in either direction, until the Charm ends.
Unlike normal objects the shield has no Durability, but it has a Structure of 3x the activation successes;
attacks made on targets on its other side are absorbed by the shield until the last Structure point is
gone. (Should this happen the shield breaks, ending the Charm.) Damage in excess of the shield’s
Structure passes through to the intended target normally.
Exceptional Success: The shield will take a great deal of punishment before breaking.
Upgrade: Adamant
The shield behaves like a normal material, with Durability and Structure both equal to the activation
successes. It provides transparent cover [GMC 200] against all attacks that must pass through it, in
either direction. Removing the shield’s last point of Structure breaks it and ends the Charm, as before.
Upgrade: Elastic
The shield stretches when struck, and springs back unharmed; it is immune to bashing damage. Only
lethal or aggravated damage will reduce its Structure.
Upgrade: Lasting
Duration: Inner Light turns
The shield endures for several actions before it must be renewed.
Upgrade: Partial
The shield can be shaped to cover parts of the circle, without surrounding the whole area; it can also
be shaped as a flat plane.
Upgrade: Beauteous (Specchio •)
Like a brilliant pearl, the shield gleams richly in the light of the Noble’s soul. Against such beauty,
who dares raise a hand? All sapient or sentient beings must pass a Resolve + Composure roll, with a
penalty equal to the lower of the Princess’ Inner Light or Specchio Invocation, to attack the Bubble
Shield.

Mirrored Item (Shape •, Specchio •)
Action: Instant, Wits + Larceny
Cost: 1 Wisp
Manipulating a reflection is child’s play for a Brat, and it shows, by spending a wisp a Princess of
Mirrors may reach into any mirror and pull the reflection of an item of a size up to her Specchio. This
reflection works just like the original, guns fire, phones make calls with one exception: The reflection is
a mirror image of the original, text is reversed and the grip may be uncomfortable.
Reflections last for Specchio turns, but the original item only gets it’s reflection back one Scene after
the reflection fades.
Upgrade: Lasting
Reflections last for Specchio times two turns.
Upgrade: Stored (Specchio ••)
Requires: Miss Poppins Bottomless Bag
A reflection is not always be needed immediately but later instead. To make this possible a Princess
that knows Miss Poppins Bottomless Bag may pull a reflection into her bag instead of using it right
now. This item suffers the same limitations as any normal stored item. Reflections in the bag do not
expire until they are pulled out, at which point they are considered the same as a reflection that has
just been pulled from a mirror. A reflection may not be put back into the back after having been
removed from it and it may also not have been used prior to being put into the bag.

Miss Poppins' Bottomless Bag (Shape ••)
Action: Instant, unrolled
Cost: 1 wisp
Duration: 1 scene
Upon purchasing this Charm, the Princess adds a securely fastened bag or pouch of some kind to her
Regalia. Activating the Charm unlocks the bag for a scene, after which it can be used freely. The
Princess may store any number of items in the bag indefinitely, as long as each item is small enough to
fit through the opening, and is light enough for her to lift without help. The Size of an object being stored
or removed cannot exceed half the Princess’ Inner Light (rounded up), unless she applies an Invocation
when she unlocks the bag. If she applies an Invocation, she can store objects of Size up to her dots in
the Invocation; the objects are the Charm’s targets, so to apply an Invocation at no cost, all the objects
stored or removed must be costless targets for that Invocation.
Putting an object in the bag is an instant unrolled action. Taking an object out is also an instant
action, and succeeds automatically as long as the number of items in the bag is less than Inner Light +
Larceny. If the number equals or exceeds this limit, the Princess must roll Wits + Larceny to find the
right item in among the clutter; she takes a penalty on this roll of -1 for each item in the bag over Inner
Light + Larceny.
Dramatic failure: The Princess finds nothing in the bag, and is so occupied with searching that she
loses her Defense for 1 turn.
Failure: The Princess pulls out the wrong item.
Success: The Princess takes out the item she wanted.
Exceptional success: The Princess finds the item immediately; she removes it as a reflexive action.
Items that are put into the bag are safe from harm and protected from loss, as they are bound to the
Princess rather than the bag itself. However, they aren’t held in stasis; food will spoil if kept long enough.
Moreover, while the bag is closed air can’t get into it, so anything living will suffocate if trapped inside
when the bag locks. Should the Princess herself die all items in the bag are lost. With the appropriate
supernatural power it is possible to steal from a Princesses bag, but doing so requires a Clash of Wills.
Upgrade: Enlarged
Stacks, up to 4
Add Inner Light again to the maximum number of items that can be put into the bag safely.
Upgrade: Deepened
Stacks, up to 2
Add 1 to the maximum Size of the items that can be put into the bag.
Upgrade: Stretched
Cost: +1 Willpower
The Princess can stuff a very large object into her bag. Double the maximum Size of items the bag
can normally hold; the Princess can put one object up to that Size into the bag at a time. As long as
that object is in the bag, the Princess can’t put anything more into it, or take anything else out - the
large object must come out first. If the bag locks before she takes the large object out, the Princess
must apply Stretched again to remove it.
Upgrade: Lightened
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess can lift extremely heavy objects, for just long enough to drop them into her bag or pull
them out. Add the Princess’ Inner Light to her Strength when checking whether an object being stored
or retrieved is too heavy for her to move.

Tool Whispering (Shape ••)
Action: Instant and resisted
Dice pool: Wits + appropriate Skill - object’s Size/2
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: concentration
The tools of a Princess’ craft are so eager to serve her desires that she may operate them from afar.
The Princess uses this Charm on a single object that she can see; the Skill she uses to activate it is the
one used normally to operate that object (e.g. Computer for electronics, Drive for a vehicle, Firearms
for guns, and so on.)
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ occult force mishandles the targeted object and breaks it. Remove 1
point of the object’s Structure.
Failure: The object remains inert.
Success: The object animates, responding to the Princess’ will. As long as the Princess concentrates,
she may take mundane actions that manipulate the object’s internal mech anisms - pushing buttons,
flipping switches, turning knobs, and so forth. She cannot pick the object up, or directly move it
from its location; actions which require that fail automatically. Thus, the scope of possible actions
depends on the complexity of the target object. A simple tool with no moving parts can’t do anything;
a gun can be made to unlatch its clip, or to fire, but can’t be aimed; a car can be made to start its
engine and drive itself; a computer can be operated almost normally, except for plugging in cables and
peripherals. The Princess cannot control the object if she loses sight of it, and the Charm ends when
she stops controlling the object. If someone else is using the object at the same time the Princess
controls it, that starts a Clash of Wills; a m undane operator uses the same dice pool for the Clash as
he does for operating the device.
Exceptional Success: The Princess controls her tool with great skill. Her mundane actions to control
it gain a +2 bonus.
Upgrade: Charged
Cost: +1 Wisp
The modern world runs on electricity, but when that’s lacking, the Princess can create a few sparks to
get it moving. When the targeted object is a machine powered by electricity, the Princess may turn
an extra Wisp into the power it requires, so it will run with a dead battery or while unplugged during
the Charm’s duration. However, a dramatic failure when activating the Charm overloads its circuits -
remove points of Structure equal to the Princess’ Inner Light.
Upgrade: Dancing
Cost: +1 Willpower
Duration: 1 scene
The targeted object, once animated, will carry out the Princess’ wishes without her conscious attention.
The Charm does not end if the Princess stops concentrating on the object; during any turn when the
Princess does not control it, the object repeats whatever action she most recently used it for. The
object can’t adapt to changed circumstances, and will continue mindlessly repeating itself until the
Princess controls it again or the Charm ends.
Upgrade: Forceful
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess can now lift, push or pull the targeted object without touching it, as easily as she
manipulates it; while she does so, the object is surrounded with a visible sign of her attention, such as
a glowing halo, a heat shimmer, or a swirl of dust or leaves. The Princess can move the object remotely
with the same Strength that her muscles give her, and at a Speed up to her own running Speed. She
may also throw the object with a standard Athletics action, although doing so immediately ends the
Charm.

Shelter Sweet Shelter (Shape ••••)
Action: Strength, Intelligence + Crafts (15 minutes/roll, threshold = 15)
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: until sunrise
The Princess creates a small building, no larger than sixteen feet by sixteen feet. Her structure is
well made and will protect her from any reasonable amount of rain or cold but not from extreme weather
such as a hurricane or even a normal day in a harsh desert. Against physical danger the walls have a
durability of five and the doors will not open to anyone but the Princess and her invited guests.
The drawback is that these buildings tend to be exceptionally noticeable, by default they follow a
similar theme to the Princess’ Regalia but applying an Invocation will instead follow the appropriate
Queen’s style:
• Tempesta: Steel military fortresses
• Specchio: A fairytale palace covered with statues of the Princess.
The Princess may build a more humble abode at a -3 penalty (though this breaks Specchio’s Ban).

Enduring Beauty (Shape ••••, Specchio ••••)
Action: Extended, Dexterity + Larceny (1 minute/roll, threshold = target’s Stamina + supernatural
advantage + dots in the Striking Looks Merit)
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Duration: Lasting
Beauty is the only true constant in the world, the Queen of Mirrors knows. Not personal beauty, for
that can fade and die, but the beauty that comes from righteousness and enduring strength. It is the
calculus of rule that inspires her to take beauty from fools who might waste it. The Enlightened learns
to peel the beauty from others, and craft it into valuable gems. These gems also have metaphysical
potency, and can be used to enhance magic. This Charm must be used against a target who is asleep,
or otherwise incapacitated or restrained.
Dramatic Failure: The noble can only mar her own beauty. She inflicts 3 points of aggravated damage,
as the beauty peels away from her flesh, and furthermore suffers the “Ugly” Condition until all of this
damage has healed. Failure: She cannot properly get her fingers under the flesh, and inflicts a point of Bashing damage on
the target, who if they are asleep can roll Wits + Stamina to wake. If she has not got the necessary
number of successes by the time the roll has ended, the target wakes automatically, and the Princess
suffers a point of Lethal damage, as her fingers wear away.
Success: Successes are gained. The target suffers a point of Bashing damage, and if they are asleep,
may roll Wits + Stamina, at a -3 penalty to wake. Incapacitated or restrained targets have no such
defence.
Exceptional Success: If 5 successes are gained in a single roll, the target does not take damage, and
does not get a roll to wake. If five successes are gained over the target number, the Princess is feeling
generous, and can leave a residual of beauty to the target; they do not gain the Ugly Condition, unless
they had no dots in the Striking Looks merit to begin with. There’s no helping some people.
If the required number of successes are attained, the princess peels the metaphysical beauty away
from the face of her target, which comes away like a thin layer of skin, which then coalesces into a gem.
If the target had no dots in the Striking Looks merit, it is a cheap stone, dull and lacking lustre, worth
Resources 1. If they had Striking Looks 1, it is attractive and valuable, a moderate value sapphire,
emerald or ruby (frequently matching the colour of their eyes) worth Resources 3. If the Princess is
lucky enough to find someone with Striking Looks 2, it is a diamond almost without compare, worth
Resources 5. An individual targeted with this Charm loses all dots in the Striking Looks merit, if they
had any, and gains the Ugly Condition. The effects on appearance are not obviously magical; even the
most beautiful target is recognisable themselves after this is used, merely... lacking the gleam of beauty
they once had.
The gems produced are metaphysically potent. When holding one in her hand, the Princess may,
reflexively, cause it to crumble to dust, destroying it utterly. It adds a number of Successes equal to
its resources value to any one roll of hers which are in line with the Specchio Invocation. If they are
stolen, any Princess can use them for this purpose. In addition, if taken to Alhambra, the followers of
the Queen of Tears convert them into lantern fuel. If the gem is returned to the person it was stolen to,
it need only be pressed against their forehead to restore their former beauty.
Unless used on a consenting target, this is Inflicted Major Hardship on Another, and so is a Belief
Compromise. Apply a -1 penalty. Knowingly using a gem created by Enduring Beauty without evidence
that it was created consensually can also be a Compromise, there is no penalty to the roll.

Through the Looking Glass (Shape ••••, Specchio •••••)
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Occult
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Duration: Indefinite
The Princess can enter the world behind any Mirror. Inside she will find a perfect reflection of everything
the Mirror can see. This does mean that any text is backwards and climbing into a funhouse mirror is...
weird. One thing worth noting about objects inside a mirror - including the counterpart of the mirror
itself - is that they are entirely immovable and indestructible: the only way to affect them is to affect
the real object they are reflections off. Real items the Princess brings with her behave as normal. Any
person or item she brings into the mirror world will cast an intangible reflection back into the real world.
Inside a mirror any area that cannot be seen by that mirror (from any angle) is nothing more than
solid glass that stretches on for infinity, or until the next place visible from that mirror. By rolling
Specchio (no Wisp cost, this glass counts as targeting a Mirror) the Princess may carve out one Size
point of Material per Success. This creates a little hidey hole invisible from the outside world perfect for
storing weapons, valuable Bequests or bringing boyfriends you don’t want your mother to know about.
These hidey holes last until the mirror is destroyed or moved, Once either occurs nothing, not even
returning the mirror to it’s origonal spot can recover any stored items. No one knows what happens to
a person lost this way but it probably isn’t pretty.
While inside the mirror any area that usually can be seen by that mirror but cannot due to
circumstance, say someone’s thrown a blanket over the mirror in the real world, is covered by pure
darkness (no relation to the Outer Dark) that numbs all five senses. This however is not any more
dangerous than normal sensory deprivation and some Princesses even make use of it for such.
Two mirrors reflecting the same area will lead to the same mirror world, though parts of it may well
be separated by walls of glass. This world would be safe until the last mirror is removed. However two
mirrors set up to reflect each other can be quite dangerous. While inside the mirror world you can use
the second mirror to recursively enter a second mirror world. Some Princesses use sequences of mirrors
as elaborate “passwords” but the risk of being lost forever in an ever deeper chain of worlds means most
stay far away.
Exiting the mirror world requires using this Charm a second time. Any Princes who knows this
Charm can also escape by simply jumping through the mirror. Knowing the Charm permanently gives
a Princess the ability to bypass the usual indestructibility of reflected objects for this one purpose. Of
course, this has all the usual effects of jumping through glass.
Upgrade: Secure
By spending 1 Wisp a Princess can fix a mirror in place. It gains Durability equal to her Specchio
against both damage and any attempt to move it requires Specchio successes on a Strength + Athletics
roll. This Upgrade is meant to provide security for a Princess’ use of a mirror world, using indestructible
mirrors as defensive positions should not be permitted. Charms do depend upon the emotions that
invoke them.
This durability does not apply to deliberate attempts to smash (say, by jumping through) the mirror
by the princess herself, it does however cover accidents.
Upgrade: Leading
With this Upgrade the Princess can now lead others through Mirrors. Each extra person or five Size
points of equipment costs an additional Wisp.
The Princess does not have to go first. It is acceptable to push someone through with the intent of
trapping them.

Always Prepared (Shape •)
Action: Permanent
A small kit of crafting tools becomes part of the Princess’ Regalia. She may apply an Invocation to
mundane Crafts rolls within one of her specialities (fixed when she takes this Charm) and never suffers
penalties from poor equipment or an improvised work area on these rolls.
Upgrade: High-grade
Stacks, up to 3
The Princess’ toolkit is of excellent quality. When she may apply an Invocation to a Crafts roll, she
has a minimum equipment bonus of +1 for each time she takes this upgrade.
Upgrade: Multi-tool
Stacks, up to 2
The Princess has appropriate tools for two or three crafts in her kit. Each time she takes this upgrade,
she adds another speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for all Crafts rolls covered
by any of the added specialities.
Upgrade: Flexible
Requires 2x Multi-tool
The Princess’ kit has tools for any bit of crafting imaginable. If she spends 1 Wisp, she gets the
benefits of the Charm for all mundane Crafts rolls made in the current scene.

Stitch (Restore •••)
Action: Instant, Strength + Crafts
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Lasting
The Princess swiftly repairs damage done to a single object she can hold or touch. For each success
rolled, the item regains one point of Structure, up to its normal maximum.
Stain Removal (Restore •••)
Requires: Bath of Souls
Action: Instant, Resolve + Empathy
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: Lasting
The Princess may cleanse the first stage of corruption by Tainted areas. For each success rolled, remove
1 point of Corruption.
Upgrade: Cleansing
As an Extended action the Princess may use Stain Removal to cleanse the Darkened of their tainted
powers. For this use, the activation roll takes a -1 penalty for each of the target’s current Umbrae. The
Princess takes this penalty even if the target is cooperating (and if he doesn’t, she must subtract his
Resolve as well.) Getting 10 successes removes one Umbra. A dramatic failure triggers the Princess’
Sensitivity, and adds the number of the target’s Umbrae to the pool. A Darkened target with no
Umbrae can be returned to full humanity with 20 successes.

Sure Hands (Restore ••)
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Crafts
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 action
Broken things return to their proper form under the Princess’ hands. Each activation success grants a
+1 bonus on a mundane action to heal or repair something damaged. Eligible actions include (under
Crafts) repairing an item, (Medicine) healing wounds, or (Computer) recovering data from a crashed
computer. If the action in question is extended, the bonus applies to all rolls until the task is complete,
or the Princess turns her attention to something else; the bonus is lost if she leaves the repairs unfinished.
Upgrade: Leading
Cost: +1 Wisp
When others assist the Princess (she is primary in a teamwork action) they gain the same bonus on
their rolls as the Princess does herself.
Upgrade: Swift (Aria •)
The light-fingered Knaves repair things with deftness and speed. When the Princess uses the Charm
for an extended action, she divides the time interval needed for a roll by 2 for each dot of Aria,
cumulative (1/2 time for Aria 1, 1/4 for Aria 2, 1/8 for Aria 3, and so on) to a minimum of 1 minute
per roll.

Ministering Angel (Restore •)
Action: Permanent
The Princess adds a first aid kit, surgical tools, or other medical equipment to her Regalia. She may
apply an Invocation to mundane Medicine rolls within one of her specialities (fixed when she takes this
Charm) and never suffers penalties from improvised equipment on these rolls.
Upgrade: Versatile
Stacks, up to 2
The Princess’ first aid kit holds a larger assortment of medical tools. Each time she takes this upgrade,
she adds another speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for mundane Medicine
rolls covered by any of the added specialities.

Valiant Mind (Perfect •)
Action: Permanent
The Princess penalises all unwanted attempts to supernaturally influence or read her mind or emotions
by her Inner Light. She may reflexively apply an Invocation to reduce an attempt by her dots in that
Invocation instead.

Celestial Dance (Perfect •)
Action: Permanent
When the Princess transforms, she moves with the grace and speed of an Olympian gymnast. She may
apply an Invocation to mundane Athletics rolls. She may also Reflexively apply an Invocation to her
Defence trait, increasing it by her Invocation dots, for an entire turn.
A Princess may not use Celestial Dance to boost her Defence during the same turn where she benefits
from the Defensive Combat merit.
Upgrade: Shining Shield
The Princess may now boost her Defence during the same turn as she benefits from the Defensive
Combat merit.
Upgrade: Swift
Stacks, up to 3
The Princess moves a little faster than any normal human can. She adds +1 to her Defence, Speed
and Initiative while Transformed each time she takes this upgrade. The Princess may never increase
her defence by more than five points with Celestial Dance.
Upgrade: Danmaku Dance
The Princess moves faster than a speeding bullet, and may apply her Defence to ranged attacks.
Common sense still applies. The Princess cannot avoid bullets unless she has room to dodge into and
going prone is a bad idea when your defence depends on maximising your mobility.

Barrier Jacket (Perfect •)
Action: Permanent
Whether a shining suit of plate mail or a sailor fuku, the Princess’ Regalia and body becomes iron hard,
this grants her one Armour covering her whole body. The Princess may reflexively apply an Invocation
at any time to add her Invocation dots to her general armour for a turn, to maximum of 5.
Barrier Jacket cannot be stacked with mundane armour.
Upgrade: Adamant
Stacks, up to 5
The Princess’s armour becomes harder to penetrate. Each time she takes this upgrade, she gains 1 more
point of general Armour from her Jacket. This cannot increase the maximum armour above five when
combined with an Invocation.

For Want of a Nail (Learn ••, Aria •)
Action: Instant and resisted, Wits + Empathy - target’s Resolve
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Instant
As the Princess touches her target’s bare skin, the moments when their life took strange turns become
apparent to her. The Princess may use the Charm on this target again, but later activations during the
scene take a cumulative -1 penalty.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the Princess. The Storyteller describes an event involving
the target that never happened; the Princess will believe in the vision unless confronted with clear
evidence contradicting them. Further uses of the Charm on the target won’t reveal such evidence -
the Princess must discover her mistake by other methods. She may not use the Charm on this target
for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her target. She may not use the Charm on this target for the
rest of the scene.
Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight into the drastic changes her target has undergone. The
Storyteller must answer one question from the following list truthfully for each activation success:
• The time and place of an event that turned the target’s life to a course he did not expect
• One detail of what happened during that event
• The name or description of one person who was involved in that event
Exceptional Success The Princess gains considerable insight into events that changed the target.

Love's Beacon (Learn ••, Fuoco •)
Action: Instant and resisted, Intelligence + Empathy - target’s Resolve
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Instant
True love illuminates the beloved. The Princess touches her target’s bare skin to learn something of the
people they most care for. The Princess may use the Charm on this target again, but later activations
during the scene take a cumulative -1 penalty.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the Princess. The Storyteller describes a vision that gives a
quite wrong idea of the target’s affections; the Princess will believe in the vision unless confronted
with clear evidence contradicting it. Further uses of the Charm on the target won’t reveal anything
that refutes the vision - the Princess must discover her mistake by other methods. She may not use
the Charm on this target for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her target. She may not use the Charm on this target for the
rest of the scene. Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight into her target’s loves. The Storyteller
must answer one question from the following list truthfully for each activation success:
• The name or description of one person the target loves or has loved
• The nature of the target’s love - marital, romantic, familial, comradely, etc.
• How the beloved feels about the target, to the best of his knowledge.
• Where the beloved is most likely to be, again to the target’s knowledge.
Exceptional Success: The Princess gains considerable insight into her target’s loves.

Pierian Spring (Learn ••, Acqua •)
Action: Instant and resisted, Intelligence + Empathy - target’s Composure
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Instant
As the Princess touches her target’s bare skin, she learns how much they have drunk from the wells of
knowledge. The Princess may use the Charm on this target again, but later activations during the scene
take a cumulative -1 penalty.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the Princess. The Storyteller gives a false rating for one or
more of the target’s Skills; the Princess will believe the target has the stated ratings unless confronted
with clear evidence contradicting them. Further uses of the Charm on the target won’t reveal such
evidence - the Princess must discover her mistake by other methods. She may not use the Charm on
this target for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her target. She may not use the Charm on this target for the
rest of the scene.
Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight into her target’s education and mental training. The
Storyteller must answer one question from the following list truthfully for each activation success:
• One of the target’s Mental Skills or specialities
• A Merit representing knowledge (e.g. Encyclopedic Knowledge) or access to knowledge (e.g.
Contacts, Library).
• A subject which the target teaches.
• The name or description of one person who taught the target something of importance to him.
• The name or description of one person whom the target is currently educating or has educated,
significantly forming their mind and character.
• The nature of the relationship between teacher and student,(e.g. the advisor for his doctoral
thesis).
Exceptional Success: The Princess gains considerable insight into her target’s mental training.

Watchful Mind (Learn ••)
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Investigation, modified by Intimacy
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene or 1 day
Like a bird to its nest, the Princess finds her way unerringly to another person.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess gets an entirely wrong idea of her target’s location. Until the scene
ends or she actually sees the target, she is convinced he is somewhere chosen by the Storyteller that
is not where he really is.
Failure: The Charm has no effect.
Success: For the rest of the scene, the Princess knows the direction and rough distance from herself to
the target.
Exceptional Success: The Princess retains her fix on the target’s location for 1 full day.
Upgrade: Visionary
When finding the target, the Princess also gets a moment’s glimpse of him and his surroundings.
Upgrade: Passionate
Cost: +1 Wisp
Requires: Passion’s Light
When the Princess first finds the target, she also gets a moment’s glimpse of his aura, as if the had
used Passion’s Light in his presence.

Second Glance Wrongness (Learn ••)
Requires: Scent Falsehood
Action: Reflexive, Resolve + Composure - power’s activation successes
Cost: none
Duration: 1 turn
Sometimes magic gets you good. The Enlightened are all too aware of that. Sometimes your mind can
be wrapped in irrational fear by the Dark-Spawn hanging from the ceiling, pale-faced, sometimes the
warrior of Storms can drive you into a frenzy, some things can pass by invisible. Princesses learn, though,
to listen to the subtle wrongness that they get when their senses are being messed with, and it’s possible
to stoke the radiance within, to burn away the clouds that fog the mind.
Whenever the Princess’ mind is influenced or controlled by a supernatural power, the player may
declare this Charm Activates and roll Wits + Composure - the power’s activation successes. (Innate
abilities of supernatural beings which work by influencing the mind subtract the being’s supernatural
advantage.)
This Charm may only be rolled once per scene.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess is so utterly fooled by the deceit that her mind is rendered susceptible
to follow-up blows. She takes the Cursed condition, inflicting a -3 penalty to realise she is under a
supernatural compulsion. This lasts for a day.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: A distorted perception wavers for a moment, showing what it conceals; an imposed emotion
falters, revealing the Princess’ true feelings; a compulsion falls slack, and is disclosed as instilled by
another. The Princess may spend 1 Willpower point to bypass it for that action - penalties don’t
apply, compulsions don’t restrict her
Exceptional Success: The power holding the Princess’ mind slips. During the Princess’ next turn, she
ignores its effects on her, without spending Willpower.

Fishing Expedition (Learn •, Acqua •)
Action: Instant and resisted, Resolve + Empathy - target’s Resolve
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: instant
Dipping a hand into another’s thoughts, you draw out a bit of treasure. On touching your target, you
learn one fact they know and wish to conceal. Which fact you learn is chosen by the Storyteller.

Love's Beacon (Learn •, Fuoco •)
Action: Instant and resisted, Presence + Empathy - target’s Resolve
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: instant
A true love illuminates the beloved, and you see it by that light. On touching your target, you learn the
name and appearance of the person or thing they most care for.

Scenes Falsehood (Learn •)
Action: Instant and resisted, Wits + Subterfuge vs Composure + Supernatural Advantage
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess develops an additional sense that can sniff out lies and dishonesty.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm fails, but the Princess believes it has worked, and thus will believe the
target implicitly, unless and until s/he says something she knows is not true.
Failure: The Charm fails, but the Princess is aware of the failure.
Success: Whenever the target says something s/he doesn’t believe, the Princess perceives the falsehood
automatically. The Charm detects the underlying emotions behind untruths, any attempt at deceit
or factual assertions made in conscious ignorance also ping her new sense. Most Princesses who make
frequent use of this Charm develop habits of asking people how they know something or how confidant
they are to filter out honest mistakes.
Exceptional Success: The Princess’ nose catches subtle misleadings as well as direct falsehood; when
the target’s statements are true but significantly incomplete, she will know that something has been
left unsaid.
Upgrade: Collective
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social group, using the Commonalty modifier. The member
with the highest Composure resists for the group.
Upgrade: Unwitting
When the Princess detects a lie, she rolls Wits + the activation successes on the Charm as a reflexive
action. If she succeeds, she gains a hint of the truth the target is concealing; on an exceptional success,
she learns exactly what the target knows of the subject of their lie.

Passion's Light (Learn •)
Action: Instant, Unrolled
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: One scene
The Princess perceives the emotional state of the people around her. Most Princesses see a wash of
colour around their bodies but others have been known to smell emotions, see floating messages or see
floating emoticons.
While Passion’s Light is active the Princess can perfectly perceive the emotional state of anyone
around her. At any time the player may ask what emotion a character is feeling most strongly and the
Storyteller or that player must answer truthfully. If the Princess wants to examine closer she may roll
Wits + Empathy, an Invocation may be applied, and ask one of the following questions per success:
• How strongly is he feeling an emotion?
• What is causing a particular emotion?
• Have the character’s emotions been chemically or supernaturally manipulated?
• What is the character’s Virtue?
• What is the character’s Vice?
Upgrade: Unmasking
The Princess can recognize supernatural beings by their aura’s unusual appearance. A Princess’ aura,
for instance, is connected to nearby people that she cares about by ribbons of aura and appears to
shed light in her vicinity – things and people near her reflect her current colour, in addition to any
aura they have themselves.

Liberal Artist (Learn •)
Action: Permanent
When the Princess transforms, she remembers her schooling and reading in her favorite field with a
crystalline clarity. She gets 9-again on mundane Academics rolls within one of her specialities (fixed
when she learns the Charm) and may apply an Invocation to those rolls.
Upgrade: Memorious
The Princess’ memory for general facts grows nearly as sharp as her knowledge of her chosen subject.
While transformed, she may apply an Invocation to rolls to memorize or remember.
Upgrade: Versatile
Stacks, up to 2
The Princess’ gift for scholarship extends to more fields. Each time she takes this upgrade, she adds
another speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for mundane Academics rolls
covered by any of the added specialities.

Know Name (Learn •)
Cost: 1 Wisp
Action: Reflexive, Unrolled
When a Princess looks at someone, she learns their name. Under most circumstances this Charm is
unrolled, the Princess looks at someone and one name just feels right or she sees a floating name tag.
However some characters have multiple names. They might go by a different name in different languages,
most people have at least one screen name on the internet, and some people have a more deceptive reason
for dual identities. In these cases the Princess learns what the target personally considers to be their
name. Against Princesses this Charm will of course provide the name of the Princess’ current identity
no matter how strongly she identifies with her other name.
If somebody uses supernatural veils to hide their name the Princess may need to oppose the roll with
Wits + Empathy, an Invocation may be applied, or make a Clash of Wills depending on the effects of
the defensive power.
Know Name cannot work on recordings, drawings or photographs. However it works fine over live
video or Charms that allow remote viewing.

Keen Observation (Learn •)
Action: Permanent
When the Princess transforms, she becomes keen-eyed, missing no detail when she fixes her attention.
She gets the 9-again quality on mundane Investigation rolls within one of her specialities (chosen when
she takes the Charm) and may apply an Invocation to those rolls.
Upgrade: Alert
The Princess’ keen perception becomes a matter of reflex. Whenever an Invocation applies at no cost,
the Princess adds it to her Perception rolls based on sight and hearing. If more than one Invocation
applies at no cost, the Princess uses the highest of them. She may also apply an Invocation when
listening for a target while blind.
Upgrade: Versatile
Stacks, up to 2
The Princess becomes perceptive in more situations. Each time she takes this upgrade, she adds
another speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for mundane Investigation rolls
covered by any of the added specialities.

Data Wizard (Learn •)
A portable computer becomes part of the Princess’ Regalia. Any mundane Computer task the Princess
performs with this computer within one of her specialities (chosen when she takes the Charm) gets the 9-
again quality, and she may apply an Invocation to these tasks. The computer can store data in practically
unlimited quantities, has adapters to connect to any computer networks available where the Princess
lives, and reads from or writes to all common forms of removable media she can find. The Princess still
has to supply passwords to gain access to a network, or else defeat the network’s security. The Princess
cannot connect to supernatural networks, unless they were specifically created to be compatible with
The Light or mundane networks.

Everything is Awesome (Inspire •••••)
Requires: Beginner’s Luck
Action: Instant, Wits + Manipulation
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: Concentration
Everything is cool when you’re part of a team!
The Princess brings focus to a group working for a common goal. Activate this Charm before assisting
in a teamwork action. For each success, one secondary actor contributes his successes directly to the
goal, instead of adding dice to the primary actor’s roll. The Princess must be a secondary actor – the
Charm does not work if she is alone, directing the team, or not contributing. The Princess must remain
performing for the entire duration of the Extended Action, which limits this Charm to tasks that can be
completed in a reasonable time.

Jumping Jack Flash (Inspire •••••)
Action: Instant, Presence + Expression, modified by Commonalty
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Duration: concentration
You were born in a crossfire hurricane. And you howled at your Ma in the driving’ rain. But it’s all
right now.
The Princess puts on a performance that inspires people to the heights of their abilities – and beyond.
Everyone in the group she uses the Charm on gets the Blessing Condition, it applies to every possible roll,
but it has an end trigger: The Blessing only applies for one roll. The Charm is, essentially, a Teamwork
roll that applies to everyone.
The effects only last as long as the Princess continues performing, spending her action for a turn.
Every member of the target group gains the bonus once, but if they haven’t used it by the time she
finishes performing the bonus is used.

Don't Stop Believing (Inspire ••••)
Action: Extended, Presence + Persuasion; requires 10 minute of performing.
Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower
Duration: 1 day
The Princess’ song revive in her target memories of lost innocence.
Dramatic Failure: The target takes the Blocked Willpower Condition.
Failure: The Charm has no effect.
Success or Exceptional Success: If she succeeds the target’s gains the Blessing Condition. The affected
trait is either Belief or Integrity and it is increased to a number chosen by the Princess before she
begins her performance, to a maximum of the Princess’ own Belief. The Storyteller has discretion on
whether this Charm affects alternative Integrity traits other than Belief.
It should be noted that magically enhanced Integrity or Belief does not protect against Breaking Points
or Compromises (the modifier to the roll for high or low Belief is affected). If Princess with Belief five
that is magically enhanced to 7 fails a Compromise roll the result is Belief four magically enhanced to
six.
Upgrade: Collective
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social group that can see or hear her, applying the Commonalty
modifier. Each member contests the effect independently.

Look Into the Future (Inspire •••)
Action: Instant, Presence + Pursuasion; requires 5 minute of performing.
Cost: 3 Wisps 1 Willpower
Duration: Lasting
Tell me what you see.
I really need to know now, is there a place for me?
The Princess makes a stirring performance about the future she wants to build, and the audience’s
place in it. Through her art she inspires people to help build that future.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess shakes her confidence in her goals. She takes the Cursed tilt, the next
roll she makes using Belief as a dicepool takes a -2 penalty.
Failure: The Charm does not activate.
Success or Exceptional Success: The target may choose to take an additional Aspiration (other Nobles
may choose a Dream instead). This Aspiration must reflect the Beliefs of the Princess invoking
this Charm. The player, the target’s player and the storyteller should work together to choose an
Aspiration.
Aspirations and Dreams created by this Charm last until they are fulfilled or until the target chooses
to stop perusing them. Under no circumstances can anyone gain more than one Aspiration or Dream
from Look Into the Future. Nor can a Princess acquire both an Aspiration and a Dream.
Upgrade: Collective
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social group that can see or hear her, applying the Commonalty
modifier. Each member may take a different Aspiration, providing it is appropriate.

Giggle at the Ghostly (Inspire ••, Aria •)
Action: Instant, Wits + Empathy; requires 1 minute of performing.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
Bullies, tyrants, even the horrors of the Dark – all these lose their terrors if you can just show them
their absurdity. The Princess may use this Charm on a single person within sight.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess frightened of the target, taking two Cursed conditions. The first
inflicts a -2 penalty on all social actions with the target for the rest of the scene, the second makes it
impossible to use this Charm on the target for the rest of the day.
Failure: The target retains his ability to frighten.
Success: The target laughs at his fears, he gains the Protective Blessing Condition, the affected trait
is “causing fear” and the decrease is equal to the Princess’ successes.
Exceptional Success: Laughing at his fears completely robs them of their power, the target also gains
the Steadfast Condition.
Upgrade: Collective
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social group whose members can see her, applying the
Commonalty modifier. If the Charm succeeds, all the members take the bonus; on a dramatic failure,
the Princess is penalized when opposing any member of the group.
Upgrade: Swift (Aria ••)
The Charm becomes Reflexive; the Princess may use it when a target tries to frighten or overawe, and
imposes the penalty on that attempt if she succeeds. Subtract the Presence of whoever is trying to
cause fear from the roll.

For the First Time (Inspire ••)
Action: Instant, Composure + Expression; requires one minuet perf
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
At least I’ve got a chance.
Doing something for the first time can be scary, but with a stirring performance the Princess banishes
those fears.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess becomes convinced that she can handle any challenge the world might
throw at her. She takes the Overconfident Condition.
Failure: The Princess doesn’t give any confidence to her target.
Success: For each activation success, the target may ignore unskilled penalties on actions using one
Skill for the rest of the scene. The Princess chooses which Skills are affected. Some actions (e.g. flying
an airplane) impose an unskilled penalty on anyone lacking an appropriate speciality; the Charm
removes that penalty too, so if a young Princess has a pressing need to fly an airplane this is the
Charm to know.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward.
Upgrade: Collective
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social group, applying the Commonalty modifier.

Fighting Evil by Moonlight (Inspire ••)
Action: Instant, Stamina + Expression; requires 1 minute of performing.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
Winning love by daylight.
School, friends, royal duties, sleep, choose three. If any Princess has chosen to skip on sleep then a
Troubadour can inspire her to keep going through the night, or day as the case may be.
Dramatic Failure: The target takes an addtional -1 peanlty to all actions.
Failure: Nothing happens
Success: The Princess removes all the effects of fatigue from her target for one scene. It doesn’t
remove the fatigue itself, and when the Charm ends the target must contend with all the usual effects
of tiredness as though she had never been reinforced by magic.

Carry On (Inspire ••)
Action: Instant, Presence + Expression, 1 minute/roll; requires 1 minute of performing.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Lasting
With all our love we cant go wrong
The Princess performs for a target who can see or hear her, and her performance bolsters the target’s
will. The Princess cannot use the Charm on herself.
Dramatic Failure: The target’s apathy or fatigue infects the Princess, loose a point of Willpower.
Failure: Nothing happens
Success or Exceptional Success: The target gains a point of Willpower, each Princess can only give
any person one point of Willpower a day with this charm.
Upgrade: Collective
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social group that can see or hear her, using the Commonalty
modifier.

Feel So Close (Inspire ••)
Action: Instant and Contested, Manipulation + Expression vs Composure + Supernatural Advantage;
requires 1 minute of performing.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess puts on a performance that inspires an emotion of her choice in its hearer. If the Princess
applies an Invocation to the Charm, the emotion inspired must be appropriate for that Invocation.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess inspires the wrong emotion, the storyteller chooses something likely to
cause the Princess problems. The target gains a +2 bonus to all actions in line with it their emotion,
and taking a -2 penalty to actions opposed to it.
Failure: Nothing happens
Success: The target feels the desired emotion, gaining a +2 bonus to all actions in line with it their
emotion, and taking a -2 penalty to actions opposed to it.
Exceptional Success: The bonus and penalty increase to +3.
Upgrade: Collective
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social group, applying the Commonalty modifier. The member
with the highest Composure + Supernatural Advantage contests for the group.

Hear Me, O Muse (Inspire •)
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Expression
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess calls on the Light for inspiration. If she is Successful she grants the target (which may be
herself) the Blessing Condition. The affected trait is “creating art”. The increase is equal to the Princess’
activation successes.
The blessing also has an end trigger, it vanishes after one applicable action. If the action in question
is extended, the bonus applies to all rolls until the task is complete, or the Princess turns her attention
to something else; she loses the bonus if she stops the job partway, and doesn’t get it back if she resumes
it.
Upgrade: Cooperative
Cost: +1 Wisp
When others assist the Princess (she is primary in a teamwork action) they gain the same bonus on
their rolls as she does.

Beginner's Luck (Inspire •)
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Dexterity
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: instant
If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly. When the Princess assists in an instant teamwork action,
she may activate this Charm instead of rolling the relevant dice pool. Each success on the activation
roll becomes a bonus die for the primary actor. In an extended teamwork action The Princess can use
Beginner’s Luck multiple times, once for each roll. Any bonuses or penalties on the teamwork dice pool
also apply to the charm roll, and a dramatic failure penalizes the primary actor’s roll as usual.
Upgrade: Enduring
Cost: +1 Wisp
When assisting in an extended teamwork action, all the Princess’ rolls are Intelligence + Dexterity
instead of the relevant dice pool.
Upgrade: Guided
Do not apply penalties on the teamwork dice pool to the activation roll.
Upgrade: Twinned
Cost: +1 Wisp
When the Princess activates the Charm, she also rolls the relevant dice pool, and adds successes from
both that roll and the Charm. The pools are separate; any bonuses and penalties apply to both.

Accept Fealty (Govern ••••, Invocation •••)
Action: Extended, Presence + Persuasion (10 minutes/roll, threshold = target’s Willpower)
Cost: 1 Wisp/roll, 1 Willpower dot.
Duration: Lasting
Through a Ceremonial induction the Princess can invite mortals to join her Court, becoming Sworn.
The ceremony is typically held in a relatively quiet and isolated location. This is for pragmatic reasons,
as the process of the Charm creates a rather impressive light show. For the Sworn, the ceremony is an
enlightening experience, no pun intended. They see the image of the Queen they have chosen to serve,
and they feel her magic flowing through them. For a brief moment, they are allowed to touch the Light
itself, which leaves behind the smallest spark.
Many Princesses will gladly swear a mortal into their Court as a favour to Princesses who don’t know
this Charm or belong to another court, in exchange for a Bequest or a favour worth a dot of Willpower.

Unweaving (Govern ••••)
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Disciplines, Gifts and Contracts. Oh My!
Can a Princess unravel a Gift, or unpick a Contract? Well no. By default a
Princess can only use Unweaving on magic created by Princesses, the Dark and
other things found in the Princess books. Even when a Gift is mechanically similar
to a Charm they are metaphysically different enough that a Princess cannot unpick
the threads and end the magic.
This is true, unless you, the Storyteller, decides it is not. Allowing Princesses to
undo the magic of others is certainly an advantage over other creatures, but if all
the players are Princesses or the other creatures are given an equivalent ability to
undo Charms this might not be a problem. You might choose to allow Unweaving
to work against all forms of magic. She rolls Occult (or Science against Geniuses),
not Empathy, at say a -2 penalty for targets unrelated to Princesses (waive the
Penalty if the Princess belongs to an appropriate Embassy, or make Embassy
membership a prerequisite if you prefer).
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Action: Reactive,
Instant or Extended
Dexterity + Empathy (5 minutes/roll, Threshold = Special )
Cost 2 Wisps
To unravel magical defences, to unpick a curse upon a beloved little sister, to tear apart a hostile
Charm flying at you. There are many reasons why a Princess might need to unweave the Charms and
magic of another. This Charm allows her to do so. The Princess may choose to Invoke this Charm as
an Reactive or as an Extended action depending on the difficulty of the task ahead.
169
If invoked reactively the Princess grabs hold of the unfinished magic and tries to rip it apart while
her opponent tries to hold the magic together. In short, Unweaving lets the Princess trigger a Clash of
Wills at any time she wishes.
An enchantment that has been completed and taken hold is tougher. Instead of a Contested Action
the Princess must score more Successes than her opponent’s Clash of Wills dicepool. She can attempt
to grab the magic magic and rip it apart as an instant action, or she can delicately unweave it thread
by thread as an extended action.
Unweaving can only be used against “magic power” abilities with a duration that lasts longer than
a Turn. Innate abilities such as Transformation or Hauntings are unaffected. The Princess also needs
to be able to touch the magic, usually this means being within the affected area or within arms reach of
the target.
When used against Ephemeral Beings, such as Dreamlanders, Unweaving can be used to undo the
effects of Influences and Numina. Unweaving cannot be used to undo Manifestations, it can remove
Manifestatinon Conditions if they were created by an appropriate method. For example, Unweaving can
remove the Anchor condition if was created with the Charm Resting Place, an Infleunce or a Numina.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess gets her magic into a horrible tangle, and is at -2 to perform Unweaving
for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress.
Success: Progress is made, when enough Successes are reached the target magic fall apart.
Exceptional Success: In addition to making great Progress, the Princess also learns some detail about
the magic’s origin, or why this thing was enchanted. Take the Informed Condition.
Suggested Modifiers: The target magic is cast on a human (including Sworn and Princesses) (+2); The
target magic is cast on something other than a living being (-2); the target magic is a Charm (+1),
the target magic is a Charm and the Princess knows a Charm from the same family (+2), the target
magic is a Charm and the Princess knows it (+3); the Princess applies an emotionally appropriate
Invocation, such as Fuoco to unpick magic that turns love to loathing or Acqua to remove a curse of
ignorance (+2), the Princess applies an emotionally inappropriate Invocation (-2), the Princess applies
an elementally appropriate Invocation, such as Acqua or Fuoco to extinguish a magical fire (+2), the
Princess applies an elementally inappropriate Invocation (-2).

Ofuda (Govern •••)
Action: 10 minutes of full concentration, Presence + Expression
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess imbues an object with the power to repel a type of supernatural beings, bestowing the
Ofuda Condition. Ofuda tend to be small symbolic objects, a short scroll of text or a picture.
The area affected is a circle surrounding the Ofuda with a radius of 2x Inner Light Yards. The
Princess may choose any type of supernatural being she has encountered before, she may also create a
blanket prohibition against all Creatures of the Darkness.
If there is already an Ofuda in place the Princess may cast additional invocations of this Charm into
the same object to expand the Charm’s affects to more kinds of supernatural beings; if she does so the
Successes on the origonal invocation apply for every protection.
Upgrade: Exemption
The Princess may allow a number of trusted individuals, up to her Inner Light, to bypass her
protections. Alternately, by adding Commonalty to the roll she may allow a social group to enter
unbarred. The Princess may change who is permitted and who is not after the Ofuda is created by
casting Ofuda again while touching the imbued Item. This will not change the strength of the
defences.
Upgrade: Sanctuary
The Princess may intertwine an Ofuda with Consecrated ground. This both extends its range to
cover the entire Consecrated area and extends the duration until the area no longer possesses the
Consecrated Condition or until the imbued object is destroyed.
An Ofuda invoked with Sanctuary must be built into the physical structure of the Consecrated ground
it protects, even if only by nailing it to the wall. If it is removed from the Consecrated ground the
Charm ends.

Bequeath (Govern •••)
Action: Extended, Inner Light + Crafts (10 minutes/roll, threshold = 3x Bequest’s Merit rating)
Cost: 1 Wisp/roll, 1 Willpower dot
Duration: Indefinate
The Princess binds the form of a Charm into a physical vessel, creating a new Bequest. Acquiring a
Charm’s form is a quest through her Crawlspace (for a Charm the Princess knows) or the Dreamlands
(for one she doesn’t). When she has found the form in the Dreamlands, and has a suitable vessel with
her sleeping body, she carries the form into her Crawlspace, and standing at the threshold between
wakefulness and dreams begins casting Bequeath.
Bequeath cannot be used by Sworn or Beacons even if it itself is crafted into a Bequest. The
production of new tools for the Radiant is limited by the Willpower of it’s Nobility.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess wakes without transforming the vessel. She can never make the target
Charm into a Bequest.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress.
Success: The Princess makes progress. If she reaches the threshold, the Charm merges with and
transforms the vessel, becoming a new Bequest.
Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great progress.
Suggested modifiers: vessel resembles the Charm’s form (+1 to +3), vessel significantly unlike the
Charm’s form (-1 to -3)
Empowered
When creating a Bequest a Chosen can embed a gem created by Enduring Beauty as a source of power.
If she does so the Bequest has an equipment bonus to its activation roll equal to the Resources value of
the gem she used. She may trade two points of the equipment bonus to allow the Bequest to generate
1 Wisp per day into it’s own pool. The Charm Study Inheritance will reveal the details of a Bequest’s
Empowerment but anyone with experience of Bequests will have little trouble figuring it out.
By pressing an Empowered Bequest to the forehead of the gem’s original owner, the owner’s beauty
may be restored; doing this destroys the Bequest beyond repair.
The question that haunts many Nobles is whether using such tools is an endorsement of their creation.
Knowingly using an Empowered Bequest, unless the Princess has reason to believe the Gem at its
heart was created consensually, is a Belief compromise. There is no modifier to the roll.
Upgrade: Charged
The new Bequest carries a pool of 10 Wisps, which is initially empty. The Princess must define a duty
the Bequest’s owner can fulfill to fill its pool. Note that this adds a dot to the Bequest’s Merit rating,
raising the threshold.

Astral Companion (Govern •••)
Action: Extended, Inner Light + Presence (10 minutes/roll, threshold = 3x Dreamlander’s Rank or
Inner Light)
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 day or Presence days.
Every Princess can bind herself to a Shikigami, but some Princesses know other ways to invite
Dreamlanders to Earth. A Princess with this Charm travels to the Dreamlands and brings a willing
Dreamlander back to the threshold of waking, where it can be activated - a task quite similar to binding
one’s Shikigami, though the Charm does not require a vessel (or allow for one).
Dramatic Failure: The Princess wakes without bringing the Dreamlander with her; she cannot use the
Charm on him again.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If she stops rolling before reaching the threshold number,
she wakes without bringing the Dreamlander with her.
Success: The Princess makes progress. When she reaches the threshold number, she wakes, and brings
the Dreamlander with her in an immaterial state. The Dreamlander gains the Fettered Condition, it is
tied to the Princess. When the Charm expires the Dreamlander does not have to worry about Influences
or Manifestations, lingering magic means that it can spend one Essence to renew the Condition for
another day or travel through the Princess’ Crawlspace to return home.
Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great progress. The Dreamlander’s stay in the waking world
is prolonged; the Charm lasts for Princess’ Presence in days.
When summoned to waking life by this Charm, Dreamlanders’ powers are somewhat limited. See the
Appendix on the Dreamlands for full rules governing Dreamlanders.
Upgrade: Vesseled
Cost: +1 Willpower
The Princess can bind Dreamlanders into physical vessels, allowing them to affect the physical world
without worrying about Manifestations for the duration of the Charm. Mechanically this can be
treated as a Shikigami without a bond to any Princess (unless they acquire one later of course).

A Magical Girl's Eyes (Govern •••)
Requires: Reflected Light
Cost: 1 Wisp
Action: Reflexive, Unrolled
Duration: 1 Scene
In her Transformed identity a Princess is an inherently magical being. Her shining heart is comprised
of both muscle tissue and solid magic, her fingers are made of flesh and clever little enchantments, her
eyes, those are magic too. By spending a Wisp the Princess can see (or smell, or taste or somehow
sense) magic. This includes both magical beings, magical items or places, and the presence of lasting
magical enchantments. This sense extends as far as she can see with her eyes and can be enhanced with
binoculars, a telescope or remote vision Charms, but not over a television or camera.
By rolling Intelligence + Empathy (for a Princess’ magic), Science (for a mad scientist’s work) or
Occult (for anything else) the Princess can also determine what kind of magic she is looking at. She may
apply an Invocation to this roll. However the Princess cannot see in any detail. At best she might get
something like “it looks angry” when looking at a werewolf or a werewolf’s spell. If the Princess sees the
same kind of magic again she can recognise the similarity; to the normal limits of her memory. If the
Princess learns that the angry looking person is a werewolf she can conclude that all the other people
with the same angry look are also werewolves or their creations.
If she is looking at an active magic effect or magical item she can determine its purpose to a similar
level of detail, such as “protect this building”. If the Princess has the Reflected Light upgrades Light
Attuned or Dark Attuned she gains their benefits when using Magical Girl’s Eyes, if she has Study
Inheritance then she only needs to look at a Bequest to learn it’s particulars. As with all uses of vision
this power is less effective over distance, as a general rule the Princess’s ability to analyse magic fades
with distance at the same rate as her ability to recognise faces.
This Charm provides no ability to see into Twilight, though if the Princess has some other means of
seeing into Twilight it will apply to it’s full extent upon the residents of that plane.
Magical concealment has it’s usual effect against Magical Girl’s Eyes. The Princess’ dicepool for
seeing though magical concealment is Wits + Composure, an Invocation may be applied. This roll is
Resisted, Contested or otherwise affected by the concealment as per it’s usual rules. The usual things
that affect perception modify the roll as normal, and if the Princess has reason to be suspicious and
intentionally examines a seemingly mundane object for magic she may be given a bonus.

Safety in Mortality (Govern ••)
Action: Full turn, Resolve + Intimidation
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene, (Consecrated)
A Princess is as much a being of mortality as she is of the Light. Just as the Transformation allows
her to switch between these worlds she may push these changes outwards, creating a safe space through
which magic cannot enter. The Charm is used on an enclosed space, such as a building or a fenced park
- if the Princess needs to protect an area that isn’t enclosed, she must mark its border somehow, by (for
instance) drawing a chalk line or throwing down a rope. The area must not extend more than (Inner
Light x 20) yards in any direction, unless the area is Consecrated.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess makes herself vulnerable to others’ magic. Any supernatural power
that is normally resisted, when used on her, gets a +1 bonus on its activation roll for 1 day.
Failure: The area gains no protection.
Success: The Princess applies the Warded condition to the target area for one scene; any attempt to
direct magic from outside to inside the protected space triggers a Clash of Wills against the Princess’
Clash of Wills dicepool at the point this Charm was invoked, and the Princess is aware of any such
attempts. If this Charm was invoked as a teamwork action the Primary Actor’s Clash of Wills dicepool
is used, but all participants are aware of any attempts to breach the Wards. If the enclosed space has
the Consecrated Condition, the Charm lasts until the area is no longer Consecrated and the Warded
Condition extends to cover the complete Consecrated are.
Exceptional Success: The Charm’s protection lasts for a full day.

Seed of Light (Govern ••)
Action: Extended, Dexterity + Expression ((20 - Willpower) minutes/roll, threshold = 3 * seeds made)
Cost: 1 Willpower, 1+ Wisps (special)
The Light exists within the world, within the hearts of all men. However, with will and effort, the
Hopeful may calcify Wisps into gem-sized, imperishable Seeds, proof against the ravages of chance. Each
Wisp spent on the Charm forms a separate Seed. The Princess does not have to decide how many Seeds
to calcify beforehand; after spending the Willpower, she starts to concentrate on her pool of Wisps. Each
three successes accumulated allows the Princess to transform one Wisp into a Seed, and she may roll a
number of times equal to her dice pool, or until she runs out of Wisps. Extra successes are wasted
The shape of a Seed is a profound expression of its creator’s soul, and is heavily influenced by the
Invocation (if any) applied in its making. (Applying Legno, for instance, often creates Seeds in the form
of living, unchanging flowers.) Any character examining a Seed, if they make a Wits + Occult roll, can
recognize a Seed as coming from the same hand as one they’ve seen before (Invocations are usually clear
without a roll).
To recover the Wisp from a Seed, a character must bring it into contact with their phylactery, and
spend a minute in concentration. No actions may be performed while doing this, and the character is at
-3 to all Wits-based rolls, so deep is their focus. The Seed glows, and becomes incohesive, melting into
their soul, and adding the Wisp to their pool. If the character’s Wisp pool is full, the Seed vaporizes
and releases the Wisp into the air, where it dissipates.
As tiny fragments of solidified Light, Seeds are incredibly alluring to creatures of the Darkness. Any
character with the Darkened template can consume Seeds to regain Willpower, gaining one point of
Willpower per Seed eaten. The Darkened can smell out Seeds kept in quantity - they gain a cumulative
+1 bonus to all Perception rolls to notice a person carrying Seeds for each Seed above the carrier’s
Composure, and tend to aim first at opponents carrying the most Seeds. Moreover, any location where
large numbers of Seeds are stored can be noticed for miles. And for the same reason, servants of the Queen of Storms have been known to use captured Seeds as Darkspawn bait.

Light over All (Govern ••)
Action: Permanent
Mortals may not be magical, but they can use magic. Some forms of magic used by mortals are impossible
for a Princess to perform, others are rendered obsolete, and then there are some types of magic that
Princesses find come even easier after they Blossom.
On the whole Princesses aren’t that great at working with or against Ephemeral Beings (Dreamlanders
excepted). The noble magic that affects such beings tends to be basic, with only obscure Embassies
mastering anything substantial. Ghosts are easier but to learn Charms that affect Ghosts she would
have to first become a practitioner of Lacrima, even though Lacrima’s Ghost Charms do not compromise
Belief few among the Radiant are willing to take that step.
So if Princesses want to deal with an Ephemeral Being they’ll either call the Embassy, or they’ll turn
to the same tricks that mortals use (see GMC p230). It is fortunate then, that a Princess’ own magic
can reinforce mortal techniques, with Light over All she can apply an Invocation to the rolls.
In addition, the following dice bonuses and penalties apply, based on the entity:
• +3: The entity was never human, and is anathema to reality (Some creatures of the Darkness)
• +1: The entity was never human, but is not anathema to humanity; or was human, but thinks
nothing like a human (most Spirits and Dreamlanders, some ancient Ghosts)
• +1: The Princess is cleansing a Tainted Place
• -1: The entity was once human, and still thinks in somewhat human ways (Ghosts, some
Dreamlanders)
• -3: The entity is human, and thinks like a human.

Gold Abhors Ebon (Govern ••)
Action: Instant and contested, Presence + Intimidation vs. Resolve + supernatural advantage
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
Invoking the Light’s authority, the Princess drives off a being of the Darkness. If the Princess wins the
contest, the target becomes irrationally afraid of her for the duration; gaining the Terrified Tilt.
Upgrade: Ruling
Inhuman monsters must acknowledge the Princess’ authority. She may use the Charm on non-human
supernatural beings, such as ghosts and other spirits (vampires, werewolves, sirens...).
Upgrade: Majestic
Requires Ruling
Cost: +1 Willpower
All those with power bow to the Light. The Princess may use the Charm on humans with supernatural
powers that aren’t derived from the Light. This includes anyone with a major or minor template, and
anyone with powers they would lose if they gained a template, except for Beacons, Sworn, and Hopeful.

Charge (Govern ••)
Action: Instant, Stamina + Empathy
Cost: none
Duration: instant
By touching someone (or something) with a pool of Wisps, the Princess transfers some of her own Wisps
to the other pool. She may give up to 1 Wisp for each success, capped by her normal Wisps/turn limit.
She cannot give more Wisps than the target can hold.
Upgrade: Accepted
The Princess may take Wisps from other people, if they are willing to give them. If the target consents,
the Princess may take 1 Wisp for each success, capped by her normal Wisps/turn limit. As inanimate
objects, Bequests cannot consent to relinquish their Wisps.
Upgrade: Distant
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on people who are not present, applying the Intimacy modifier. With
Accepted, she can take Wisps from those she can’t see as well.

Study Inheritance (Govern •)
Action: Extended, Intelligence + Empathy (5 minutes/roll, threshold = Bequest’s Merit rating)
The mysteries of the Kingdom’s relics can be unveiled. The Princess uses this Charm on a transformed
Bequest; when she reaches the threshold, she discovers what Charm the Bequest is based on, the cost of
activating it, whether it carries a pool of Wisps, if it is empowered, and the duty one must carry out to
refill the pool.

Dreaming Sight (Govern •)
Action: Reflexive
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 Scene
The Princess can see into Twilight to perceive natives of the Dreamlands who have escaped to the waking
world, along with similar phenomina like astrally projecting psychics. With a Successfull Perception roll
she can notice Manifestation Conditions related to a Dreamlanders in her vicinity. Physical objects still
block her sight, so a Dreamlander can hide behind - or inside - such objects to evade her.
Upgrade: Touching
By spending an additional Wisp, the Princess shifts her flesh partly into Twilight, allowing her to touch
or attack Dreamlanders, and they her, until the Charm ends. All of her regalia (including weapons
and armor) are carried into this state with her, as are the effects of Charms.

Reflected Light (Govern •)
Action: Permanent
The Princess gains the benefits of the Unseen Sense merit for any use of a supernatural ability within 10
x Inner Light yards. The simple presence of a being with magical powers does not register to her new
sense, but she will notice any power such beings use.
The Princess may roll Wits + Occult reflexively on sensing a power in use to identify it, and may
apply an Invocation to this roll. If it springs from the Light or the Darkness, success identifies the power
as of the Light or the Darkness. For other powers the Princess must learn about the nature of the power
through research or investigation.
So if a Princess felt a power belonging to a Vampire she could tell that it was the same kind of power
as every other use of a Vampire’s power she previously felt. But she would not know that all these powers
belonged to vampires without investigating.
If the character using the power has the ability to conceal itself from supernatural detection, then
the Princess must overcome that concealment as per the usual rules.
Upgrade: Sensitive
Double the range of the Princess’ Unseen Sense, to 20 x Inner Light yards.
Upgrade: Light-attuned
The Princess recognizes individual powers springing directly from the Light; when she rolls to identify
a Charm, she learns the exact Charm along with any Upgrades and which Invocation, if any, was
applied.

Consecrate (Govern •)
Action: Extended - teamwork, Presence + Expression (10 minutes/roll, threshold = variable)
Cost: 3 Wisps
Duration: special
The Princess blesses the ground she stands on, and dedicates it temporarily to her Queen and the Light.
By using this Charm a Princess applies the Consecrated condition to the area until the Charm ends.
Many Charms, distinguished as such in their description are more durable or effective when invoked
upon consecrated groups. The Princess needs to cleanse and purify every part of the area she wishes
to sanctify; this can be as simple as giving it a thorough spring cleaning, or it can be an elaborate rite
for casting out evil spirits, depending on the Princess’ cultural background. However, if she applies an
Invocation, the method of purification invokes the relevant Queen and must use symbols appropriate for
her.
Consecrating a large area is naturally harder than a small one, Consecrate is a Sanctuary based
Charm.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess ruins the area’s blessing - all her accumulated successes are lost, and
if the area has the Consecrated condition immediately loses it. No one can use Consecrate there for a
full month.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress, but may continue her efforts.
Success: The Princess progresses in her work. When she reaches the threshold, the area gains the
Consecrated condition and retains it for 1 day. The Princess may continue working to extend the
Charm’s duration:
2 * Sanctuary Size = 1 day
4 * Sanctuary Size = 1 week
6 * Sanctuary Size = 1 month
8 * Sanctuary Size = 1 year
10 * Sanctuary Size = indefinite
Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great progress.
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If an area is already Consecrated, Consecrate will not take effect until the Princess reaches enough
successes to exceed the remaining duration of the previous Consecration. (For instance, if an area will
be Consecrated for five days, the Princess must reach enough successes for a week’s duration, after which
the area will be Consecrated for a week.) If any part of an area is Tainted, the Charm automatically
fails. Consecrate ends if the area suffers major alterations or damage, or someone manages to bring Taint
into it.
If the Princess has access to gems created by the Charm Enduring Beauty she can use them to
empower Consecrated ground, extending the duration of the protection. A gem worth Resources three
increases the duration by one step (so 2 * the area’s size successes creates a duration of 1 week). A
gem worth Resources five increases the duration by two steps. It takes five gems worth Resources one to
increase the duration by one step. Multiple gems may be combined for a greater effect but the required
successes can can never drop below 2 * the area’s size. Obviously the duration cannot be increased past
indefinite.
Gems used to empower Consecrated Ground must be reworked into part of the ground, becoming
beautiful statues, windows or other features. This happens as part of the Charm. They must be displayed
prominently but can be protected by any anti-theft measure that doesn’t spoil their beauty. If even one
of these reworked gems is removed from the Consecrated ground the Charm ends. Once this happens
they can never again be used to enhance magic, however they are still beautiful and worth money, and
they can still be used to return beauty to whomever it was taken from.
Making use of Consecrated ground that is built on stolen beauty is a Belief Compromise, unless
there is good evidence to suggest that the beauty was taken consensually. There is no modifier for the
Compromise roll.
Upgrade: Purifying
The Princess may apply the Consecrated condition on top of Taint. The Taint will always overcome
this Charm given enough time, but it can allow the Princess some vital breathing space. Invoke
Consecrate like normal, when the Princess accumulates a number of Successes equal to the Taint’s
Severity then:
• The Taints’ Curses go dormant.
• The Taint will not attempt to Corrupt nor will it cause Hauntings for characters with sensitivity.
• The Taint no longer provides access to and from the Dark World
However once per day reduce the Princesses Successes by the Taint’s Severity. When her Successes
are reduced to zero or when the duration expires, as measured by her unmodified Successes, the
Consecrated condition ends and the normal effects of Taint return. The Princess may invoke Consecrate
again to add additional Successes, but this only delays the inevitable.
Purifying does not protect against new Taint, only the existing Taint.
Upgrade: Bastion
Several charms have special benefits when cast upon Consecrated ground. When Consecrate is invoked
with Bastion another benefit is added: Charms that benefit from the Consecrated condition are immune
to being dispelled (such as by the Charm Unweaving) for as long as the condition remains.
It is important to note that Consecrate itself can be dispelled and this Upgrade offers no protection
against that.

Guardian Angel (Fight ••, Fuoco •)
Action: Instant, Strength + Presence
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: successes in turns or 1 scene
A true Heroine gladly risks her life to save another from harm. The Princess uses this Charm on
someone she can see; she cannot use it on herself or anyone with a Supernatural Advantage equal or
greater to her Inner Light - 2.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess is struck by dizziness and loses strength, as if suffering a high fever.
She takes the moderate form of the Sick Tilt (GMC p. 212). The fever fades if the Princess rests long
enough to reduce the penalty to 0.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: Everyone who can see both the Princess and the target realizes that she has put him under
her protection; those who wish to harm him must first defeat her. For turns equal to the activation
successes, any character who attacks the target cannot apply Defense against an attack from the
Princess until their next action.
Exceptional Success: The Princess’ protection lasts for the rest of the scene.
Upgrade: Everyone’s Angel (Fuoco 2)
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess offers her protection to members of a group that she can see, applying the Commonalty
modifier for that group; while the Charm lasts, anyone who attacks a member of that group loses his
Defense against the Princess until his next action.

You Might Hurt Yourself (Fight ••)
Requires: Kensai
Action: Reactive and Contested, Dexterity + Brawl or Weaponry.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: instant
When an armed foe attacks the Princess in close combat, she strikes at her opponent's weapon. The Princess gains no Defence against any attack countered with this Charm but every success rolled subtracts one from the attacker’s successes. If the Princess rolls more successes then her opponent, the latter is disarmed, and their weapon goes flying Strength yards in a random direction.

Strike False (Fight ••)
Requires: Kensai or Levinbolt
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Brawl, Firearms or Weaponry.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess’ weapon becomes a phantom, creating the appearance of danger without inflicting actual
harm.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ attacks are real, but she is convinced they are not, and does not
realise otherwise until the Charm ends
Failure: The Princess’ attacks remain unchanged.
Success: The Princess’ Regalia weaponry inflicts phantom damage The target suffers wound penalties
from this damage and risks unconsciousness if it fills the last box, as normal. However, the damage
is not real; it vanishes when the Charm ends as if it were healed, and if the target takes real damage
when the track is full, that damage replaces the phantom damage instead of wrapping over. Phantom
damage also has no effect if the target has no empty Health Boxes to fill. The phantom damage can
also be healed magically, or mitigated as it’s inflicted by targets who have that ability. Phantom
damages is removed at the end of the charm’s duration, and the Princess may reflexively end the
Charm; restoring the lethal capacity of her weaponry and removing any phantom damage she has
caused.
Exceptional Success: The Princess may choose whether to inflict normal or phantom damage for each
attack.
Upgrade: Suggestive
Cost: +2 Wisps
Any Charm the Princess casts that inflicts damage inflicts phantom damage instead of normal damage.

Lightning Charge (Fight •, Aria •)
Action: Reflexive, unrolled
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 Turn
The Princess charges into battle with the speed of lightning, she may spend a Wisp to make a charge
action without sacrificing her Defense.

------------------------------------------------
It’s Magic
Regardless of their form weapons created by Kensai, Levinbolt and even the
weaponless combat of Empty Hand are treated as magical damage. They are the
Princess’ willingness to hurt another, or to defend another, made manifest.
This means that a Princess’ may create a sword of the purest silver, but it will not
be of any extra help when fighting a Werewolf (though the Werewolf might not
know that), but contrawise it will not be stopped by that anti-silver forcefield the
Werewolf brought off a Mad Scientist.
Invoked upgrades can change this rule, for example after applying the Fuoco
Upgrade Burning a Princess’ attack consists of both magic and fire. Apply the
greatest defence against either magic or fire, but any damage that gets through is
counted as the more effective of the two.

Fighting Styles
Just because a Princess is firing rainbows from a cheerleading baton doesn’t mean
she can’t benefit from a few days training down at the firing range. Princesses can
use fighting styles just like anyone else.
A Princess may pick one type of mundane melee weapon for Kensai, mundane
ranged weapon for Levinbolt (including those which use Athletics), and one
mundane defensive armament for Shining Shield. She may use her magical weapon
for any fighting style where that mundane weapon is appropriate, even if this means
she’s using the Light Weapons style with an enormous hammer. The Princess may
not use her weapon for any fighting styles that are inappropriate for her chosen
mundane weapon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kensai (Fight •)
Action: Permanent
A melee weapon becomes part of the Princess’ Regalia, manifesting her courage and belief. Initially the
weapon’s Damage is 1 but when she attacks the Princess may apply an Invocation to add Damage or
additional dice to her pool, this stacks with any damage or bonus dice from Upgrades but in either case
the maximum is 5. The damage can be either Bashing or Lethal and the Princess can swap between
them with a Transformation action. The princess may not apply an Invocation to both Damage and
Accuracy in a single turn.
The Princess chooses either Brawl or Weaponry as the Skill for using her weapon when she learns
the Charm. The weapon always has a Size between 1 and 4. For anyone but the Princess, the Initiative
penalty and the minimum Strength needed to use the weapon equals 3 + the Princess’ Inner Light. For
the Princess herself, both are 0 – as an extension of her will, the weapon obeys her desires as well as her
own hands.
Upgrade: Accurate
Stacks, up to 3
The Princess wields her weapon with supernatural skill. Each time the Princess takes this upgrade,
she gains 1 bonus die when attacking with her weapon.
Upgrade: Damaging
Stacks, up to 3
Each time the Princess takes this upgrade, she adds 1 to her weapon’s Damage. Upgrade: Durable
The Princess’ weapon becomes nearly impossible to break. Add her Inner Light to the weapon’s
Durability.

Empty Hands (Fight •)
Action: Permanent
Many of the Hopeful have weapons in their Regalia, but some prefer to master control over the ability to
inflict harm. She may apply an Invocation to rolls to start grappling, to her manuevers within a grapple,
and to rolls to touch an opponent without hurting him.
Upgrade: Crushing
While grappling, the Princess delivers immense force in her grasp. She may do either lethal or bashing
damage to her opponent, once she has a hold on him.
Upgrade: Grasping
Stacks, up to 3
Whenever the Princess may apply an Invocation because of the Charm, she always adds a +1 equipment
bonus for each time she takes this upgrade.

Whispers from Afar (Connect •••)
Action: Instant, Wits + Socialize, modified by Intimacy
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 scene
What need is there of speech between you and those you love? A Princess uses this Charm to
communicate with another person; if he is not present, the Intimacy modifier applies. If the target has
Wisps, s/he can share the activation cost; both the Princess and the target spend 1 Wisp, and the target
does so reflexively.
Dramatic Failure: For the duration, the Princess imagines the voice of her target is speaking to her;
what it says is what she generally expects him to say, but it chooses the most distracting moments to
speak. She takes a -2 penalty on all Wits-based rolls.
Failure: The Charm has no effect.
Success: The Princess can speak directly to the mind of her target, without using her voice, and the
target can reply the same way. The Charm conveys only sounds that the Princess and the target could
actually speak; so, for example, if one thinks in a language the other doesn’t know, he hears the words
but cannot understand them. On the other hand, anything said is heard as clearly as if the two of
them stood together in a quiet room. The first time someone is the target of this Charm, he must roll
Resolve + Composure to learn how to speak through the link (and, possibly, to persuade himself that
he isn’t imagining the voice in his head.)
Exceptional Success: In addition, by concentrating the Princess and the target can share a memory.
The one who has the memory makes a memory roll (see p. 44 of the nWoD core book) to recall it;
whatever she recalls passes over the link, and the other makes a memory roll to retain the information.
This takes an instant action from both characters.
Upgrade: Party
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess adds the Commonality modifier to create a channel of voiceless speech among several
people. She can speak to any or all of the targets’ minds, and they can speak to her and each other
in the same way.

Leading the Way (Connect •••)
Action: Instant, Presence + Persuasion
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Until the condition is resolved
We put a lot of ourselves into our leaders. We trust them, we follow them, we even base parts of our
identity on which leader we follow. A Princesses can work with the connections between people and their
leaders, bringing herself closer to the people she serves.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess shakes her confidence in her goals. Take the Self-Doubt Condition.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success or Exceptional Success: Choose one Dream of Aspiration and mark it with the Guiding Light
Condition. When you fulfil it everyone who helped you do so in the current Session takes a Beat,
Princesses who help you fulfil a Dream also gain a Luminous Beat.

An Introduction (Connect •••)
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Empathy
Cost: 2 Wisps
A Princess’ true power comes from the lives she has touched, so sometimes it’s important to touch the
right person. The Princess activates this Charm to meet someone who is predisposed to like her. She
may take penalties to the roll to narrow the search, specifying that the person she will meet has certain
qualities. A quality represented as a trait (e.g. an Attribute, Skill or Merit) adds a penalty equal to the
desired dots in the trait; a less quantifiable trait adds a -1 penalty. She may not use the Charm while
she is affected by a previous activation.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess learns how to find someone who satisfies all her requirements; however,
if she meets him, the storyteller should inflict some hardship upon her.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The Princess learns how to find someone who satisfies all her requirements. If she follows the
indicated plan (the Storyteller must provide a plan) she meets the person in question.
Exceptional Success: In addition, she will meet the person in favorable circumstances and create an
initial impression one step higher than she naturally would have.
Upgrade: Proxy
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess can act as an intermediary. She may use the Charm on a person she can touch, though
not on anyone under its effects. The Charm affects the target exactly as it would if he activated it
himself, except that the Princess learns the plan and must tell it to the target.

Cherish (Connect •••)
Action: Instant and resisted, Wits + Empathy - target’s Composure
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Inner Light days
A person she’s met, a place she’s been – these fix themselves in a Princess’ heart. The Princess uses this
Charm on a target within sight, to grant herself temporary Intimacy to it.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot use any Charm through an Intimate connection to the target
until she sees it again.
Failure: The Charm has no effect.
Success: The Princess and her target gain the Entwined condition, linked to each other. For every
Success the Link Strength is one step stronger than her natural Intimacy, to a minimum of Love. The
Condition ends when a Charm is invoked across the new connection.
Exceptional Success: The connection lasts for several Charms, though it frays each time the Princess
uses it. The first Charm she uses has an Intimacy modifier of 0, the second has one of -2, the third -4,
and so forth until she returns to the original level of Intimacy.
Note that the Intimacy made by Cherish works both ways; if the target has a power that exploits
Intimacy, he can send that power through the connection the Princess made.
Upgrade: Durable
Cost: +1 Wisp
Using Charms no longer ends the Entwined condition, it lasts for Inner Light days and no longer.

The Right Word (Connect ••)
Action: Instant and contested
Dice pool: Manipulation + Persuasion vs. Composure + Supernatural Tolerance
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: instant
The Princess can read the hearts of those she meets, discovering what they most desire and what she
can do to help them reach it. At the start of a social maneuver with a person, the Princess may activate
this Charm.
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Dramatic Failure: The Princess is led to believe the target has an Aspiration which is, in fact, repugnant
to him. If she offers to help him achieve the spurious goal, add one Door to her social maneuver and
lower the impression by one step.
Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her target’s desires. The social maneuver proceeds normally.
Success: The Princess learns one of the target’s current Aspirations in the course of her first attempt
to open a Door. She may appeal to that Aspiration after the first attempt resolves, whether it succeeds
or fails. If the target has a Dream, or any other trait similar to Aspirations, the Princess can discover
it instead of an Aspiration.
Exceptional Success: The Princess learns two of the target’s Aspirations (or Vocations, or similar
traits) as she tries to open her first Door.
Upgrade: Convincing
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess knows just how to appeal to her target’s wishes. When she appeals to an Aspiration
revealed by the Charm during the social maneuver she used it, she opens two Doors instead of one.

Shared Interests (Connect ••)
Action: Instant, Presence + Socialise
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: One scene or one day
The Princess turns common knowledge and training into a bond among the people near her. The Princess
may use this Charm on a person she can touch, when the target is in the company of at least four other
people, and all of them have at least 2 dots in the same Skill. The Princess may not use the Charm on anyone already under its effects.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess becomes flustered and distracted when the target can see her. She
takes the Nervous Condition, which resolves when she has left the target’s presence for at least one
scene.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: For the rest of the scene, the target has the benefits of the Hobbyist Clique Merit, related
to the Skill he shares with the others who are present. The benefit is limited to one Skill at a time;
if more than one clique can be formed around the target for different Skills, the Princess chooses a
Skill as she activates the Charm. The target needs the help of at least four clique members to get
the benefit; the Charm does not end if the clique disperses, but it has no effect unless five members
including the target are working together.
Exceptional Success: The Charm grants its benefits to the target until the next sunrise.

Better Together (Connect ••)
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Socialise vs Composure + Supernatural Advantage
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Until the condition is resolved
With deft fingers the Princess weaves two people together, using each as support for the other so that
they may reach greater heights. The Princess may be one of the two people. The is contested by the
higher dice pool of the targets, but if everyone consents the Charm is unopposed.
Dramatic Failure: Both parties take the Fresh Impressions condition, setting their impressions one
stage lower for a day.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The charm takes effect, one or both of the targets, the Princess’ choice, gain the Guided
Condition connecting them to the other target.
Exceptional Success: In addition both parties take the Fresh Impressions condition, setting their
impressions one stage higher for a day.

Mercury's Blessing (Connect •, Acqua •)
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Expression
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
With a touch of the hand and a look in the eye, the Princess may converse with anyone in the world. She
touches someone to activate the Charm. With an ordinary success, she acquires a basic understanding
of the target’s native language until the Charm ends. She gains the Blessing Condition, the affected
trait is a dot in the multilingual merit applied to a single language the target knows. On an Exceptional
Success the Princess gets the Language Merit instead.
Upgrade: Lasting
Cost: +1 Wisp
Duration: 1 day
The Princess’ magical fluency persists for a full day from the moment she gained it.

Open Heart (Connect •)
Action: Permanent
When the Princess transforms, she radiates kindliness and trustworthiness; those she meets take her as
a natural confidant. She may apply an Invocation to mundane Empathy rolls.
Upgrade: Curious
The Princess draws secrets out of people, not by terrifying them but with a pleasant manner and an
air of sympathy. She may use Empathy to interrogate people (see p. 81 of the core book) instead of
Intimidation. All other rules for that task are the same; only the required Skill changes.

First Impressions (Connect •)
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Empathy
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
Surrounded with fresh faces and unfamiliar places, the Princess adorns herself in an radiant aura of
trust.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm works in reverse, making the Princess naive and awestruck by new
people. She applies the Fresh Impression condition to herself, increasing her impressions of anyone she
hasn’t already formed an opinion about by one step.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: Until the Charm ends she automatically applies the Fresh Impressions Condition to anyone
she interacts with for the first time as well as anyone who has spoken to the Princess before but has
no opinion about her. Essentually, if the phrase “first impressions ” fits then the Charm functions.
The Condition increases the target’s impression by one step.
Exceptional Success: The Princess also gains the Blessing Condition, she has a +1 to all social rolls
with the affected people.
Upgrade: Second Chances
Instead of an all-emcompassing aura the Princess may instead focus this Charm on one single person,
even one who has met the Princess before. The activation roll is Contested by the target’s Composure
+ Supernatural Advantage.
Upgrade: Introductions
The Princess may invoke First Impressions on someone other than herself.

Laying Down The Line (Connect •)
Action: Instant, Resolve + Streetwise
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: One scene (Consecrated)
A Noble is a creature of divides; between Light and Dark, Transformed and mundane, Hope and despair.
Drawing a line on the ground, she separates one area from another, and so becomes aware of anyone that
crosses that line. Before this Charm can be used, the Noble must first make some kind of line or divide
to empower, such as a chalk line drawn on tarmac, a rope thrown down, or even putting up a picket
fence around a house. This is a mundane activity, unrelated to the actual use of the Charm, and these
divides can be linear, or enclose an area. It can also empower pre-existing divides, such as a doorway,
or a river. These divides must either measure no more than (Inner Light x 20) yards in any direction,
or be in an area affected by the Consecrated Condition.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’s clumsy magic temporarily manages to scramble her memories. She
gains the Lost Condition, she is no longer able to remember how place connects to place.
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Failure: The Charm fails to activate, with a slightly pathetic spluttering noise.
Success: The divide is empowered, gaining the Line in the Sand Condition. She nominates certain
targets and instantly knows if they cross the line (and which line, if she has more than one active). The
Princess can nominate everyone, a single individual, or she may nominate a social group by adding
Commonality to her roll. By default, the duration one scene. If used on a single natural divide, such
as a doorway or across a bridge, the duration is increased to one day. If used on Consecrated ground
the duration is until the area is no longer Consecrated.
Exceptional Success: The magic flows easily, the divide feeling natural, and so the Princess is refunded
the Wisp cost for the Charm.
Suggested Modifiers: Naturally secure building (+ Safe Place). Exceptionally strong memories of love
and safety, such as a childhood home or childhood holiday home (+5). Strong memories of love and
safety, such as a long time friend’s home (+3). The character does not have position of the owner of
the land to do this (-2).
Upgrade: Illuminated
Cost: +1 Wisp
Reaching out, the Princess sketches the bounded area in her mind, painting the delineation in liquid
light. She is not required to make a mundane divide, and so may encompass any area up to the limit
as part of the activation Instant action, and the line may not be removed by the destruction of the
mundane component.
Upgrade: Unnatural
The Princess has additional options when deciding who the lines should target. She may now choose
anyone Supernatural, Princesses and Sworn, or Creatures of the Darkness. For the purpose of this
Charm “supernatural” has a minimum threshold of a Minor Template such as Sworn.

The Stare (Connect •)
Action: Permanent
To her opponents, the Princess’s eyes feel like the stare of a thousand predators, and the aura she exhudes
is like a great beast stalking her prey. No wonder they become more... cooperative. She gets the 9-again
quality on mundane Intimidation rolls within one of her specialities (fixed when she takes the Charm)
and she may apply an Invocation to those rolls.
Upgrade: Versatile
Stackable 2 times
The Princess makes herself more generally fearsome. Each time she takes this upgrade, she adds
another speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for rolls covered by any of the
added specialities.

Illuminatus (Connect •)
Action: Permanent
When the Princess transforms, the secrets of the wealthy and powerful in her community cannot be
hidden from her. She gets the 9-again quality on mundane Politics rolls within one of her specialities
(fixed when she takes this Charm) and may apply an Invocation to those rolls.
Upgrade: Connected
Stacks, up to 2
Other communities’ inward lives become known to the Princess. Each time she takes this upgrade, she
adds another speciality to the Charm; she gets the benefits of the Charm for mundane Politics rolls
covered by any of the added specialities.

Fair Welcome (Connect •)
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Socialize
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 day or 1 week
The Princess can strike up a conversation with nearly anyone she meets, and learn many things from
an hour of polite talk. On using this Charm the Princess gains the Blessing Condition. The affected
trait is her Contact merit and the Blessing adds one dot. In all respects she follows the normal rules for
interacting with Contacts.
The Blessing lasts for a day, or a week with an exceptional success.

Engine Heart (Bless ••, Fuoco •)
Action: Instant, Presence + Persuasion
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
Passion blazes in the Princess’ heart, and with it she can ignite any heart. Success grants the target the
Floating Blessing Condition: The affected traits are Power Attributes and the pool starts with two dice
per success.

Wits of Wind (Bless ••, Aria •)
Action: Instant, Wits + Persuasion
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess moves on wild winds, she moves faster, thinks sharper and for a time she can even carry
another with her. Success grants the target the Floating Blessing Condition: The affected traits are
Finesse Attributes and the pool starts with two dice per success.

Small Providence (Bless •)
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Streetwise
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 day
The Princess (or one she helps) finds, and obtains, that one thing she was looking for, at a surprisingly
low price. The target gains the Bargain condition: The applicable purchases are everything and the
discount is one dot. On an exceptional success the discount is two dots.

Summon Backup Dancers (Appear •••)
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Expression
Cost 3 Wisps
Duration: 1 scene
Sometimes a Princess just needs to wow a crowd. With this Charm a Princess can summon her own
support team with a maximum of Inner Light members.
Before casting Summon Backup Dancers the Princess must declare what kind of action they’re going
to support. The Princess could declare singing in which case they’d be able to perform dance routines
or backup vocals. The Princess could declare painting and summon a model to paint.
Backup dancers are solid but only when it relates to their assigned task, an actor would be able
to interact with props, and wear costumes, but would not be able to fetch a cup of coffee. A cunning
Princess might still be able to use them for other roles, she might ask her trope to dance around waving
their arms in front of her enemies face while she hides, or to attack foes who don’t realise the backup
dancers cannot hurt them. (Assume a 1 die pool on any social actions, mental and physical tasks fail
automatically). If attacked a single point of Damage, even Bashing, causes a Backup dancer to vanish
into a puff of ephemera appropriate to the Princess.
A Princess can only have one instance of Summon Backup Dancers active at a time.
Dramatic Failure: You summon Inner Light performers but have no control over them. They
immediately run riot, while not actually harmful they can be very very annoying and are certainly
inappropriate to the Princesses wishes. Think clowns, not monsters.
Failure: No Dancers appear.
Successes: The Princess summons up to Inner Light backup dancers. Their assistance allows her to
add Inner Light to any mundane rolls in a chosen Crafts or Expression Speciality (The Princess does
not need to have that Speciality herself). If the Charm was Invoked the Princess add her Invocation
instead of Inner Light.
Exceptional Success: As per Success but with an additional +1.